A New Light (The Astral Wanderer Book 1)

by D'Artagnan Rey

  Surprisingly, the bandit leader laughed raucously as he shook his head and clapped. “Well I’ll be— You’re something else, kid!” he remarked, his tone impressed, and slid his hand into his coat. “I underestimated you and your little friends. I usually have a good eye for easy targets but guess I was way off the mark this time.”

  “Will you fight too?” Devol asked and observed the man as he rummaged in his jacket.

  “Well, I have to save face now,” Jett stated. and withdrew a small hammer. “This is about pride, not merely plunder.”

  Jazai had told the young Magi that the leader had an exotic, and the boy’s gaze studied the hammer. The one-handed weapon with a head that was no more than six or seven inches wide and a few inches tall was a little disappointing and he wondered if it was truly his exotic or merely a ploy.

  The brigand twirled the hammer for a moment. “Nice sword. What is that?” he studied the light-blade as a thief might a precious jewel he intended to steal. “Some sturdy glass, I suppose, although it’s nothing I’ve seen before. My boys have truesilver blades, so it wasn’t only you strengthening your sword with Mana that kept it intact. I wonder how much I can get for something like that. It’s a collector’s item, no doubt. I might keep it for myself.”

  “My majestic sought me out,” Devol stated and pointed it at the bandit leader. “And I have only recently acquired it. I won’t give it up.”

  “A majestic?” Jett chuckled. “Either way, that sounds like a pompous way to say, ‘you can pry it out of my cold, dead hands.’” He held his hammer up and a dull red glow now surrounded it. “I can oblige you there, boy.”

  His eyes widened. He had his answer. The hammer was indeed his opponent’s exotic and it was much more than it appeared to be. He decided to not give the man any advantage he might gain with more time to prepare himself and surged into motion. Jett merely laughed wildly.

  “Where’d he go? Did anyone see him?” one of the bandits shouted as they thrust through the forest in search of Jazai.

  “Over here!” the diviner shouted. The group was bewildered but followed the voice hurriedly to a small clearing, where their quarry stood in the open, reading his book. “Let’s see… Both James and Kane have short fuses. Vick and Vince are brothers who attack together.”

  “What the hell?” Vick demanded indignantly. “How does he know our names?”

  “Must be a trick!” Kane reasoned and brandished his mace. “We beat the kid and worry about the rest later.”

  “Did you know that Vince has been seeing your girl, Vick?” Jazai asked and caught both of the bandits' attention. “Lola in Sherbrook? Yeah, they’ve had a few flings. I guess brothers do share everything.”

  “Is that true, Vince?” Vick demanded, turned immediately, and pointed his sword at his brother. “Well, is it?”

  “He’s only trying to get in your head, man!” Vince said and tried to calm him as he held his sword up defensively. “Don’t let him get to you.”

  “I’m not sure what I have to worry about with Kane and James,” the boy remarked when he flipped a page. “It says here you think you’re the worst fighters among your group. Both of you are worried that the boss will toss you out on your ass sooner or later, and that’s the best outcome.”

  “Shut up!” they yelled almost in unison as they lunged toward him. He closed the book and waited for them to strike. He might not have been an up-close fighter like Devol or Asla, but even he could see how sloppy the two were and slid easily between them as they attempted to land their blows at the same time. His ploy worked and their weapons clashed noisily against each other.

  Jazai placed his hands on the back of their heads. “Shock!” Electricity coursed through his palms and into the bandits, who yelled in pain before they fell at his feet. He shook his hands and felt them tingle. “Huh. I need to work on that one,” he muttered as he turned toward the forest. Vick and Vince now brawled openly with one another.

  For a moment, he wondered if he should simply let them keep themselves occupied, but he decided to be on the safe side. He pointed at them with his index and little finger. “Missile.” Two orbs of blue Mana formed in front of his fingers and streaked unerringly into the heads of the bandit brothers to render them unconscious and end their little spat. The diviner grinned and departed.

  “Holly!” a bandit shouted in an attempt to locate his comrades. “Xav! Did you find her?”

  “I don’t hear anything.” His partner grimaced. “Only birds and insects. How far did they go?”

  “Maybe she got them?” the first man reasoned and tightened his hold nervously on his mace.

  “No way. That scrawny little—” His partner’s words ended in a sudden shout and a sound that suggested he’d thunked into a tree trunk.

  He spun hastily. The other man lay in a crumpled heap and Asla stood over him. “Son of a—” He acted reflexively and pushed into a charge as he raised his mace. The wildkin turned, formed a claw with her hand, and lashed out even though he was several yards away.

  His mace suddenly felt considerably lighter and he gaped at it in astonishment. The weapon had been cut into three pieces and most of it was now on the forest floor. Before he could even utter a word, she darted behind him, struck the back of his neck in one swift motion with the side of her hand, and felled him instantly.

  She watched for a moment to see if he recovered but once she was sure he was as incapacitated as the other three bandits, she began to run toward the road. The wildkin wondered how Devol and Jazai had fared but she heard a loud impact, something that caused the forest to shake. She increased her pace even more. It sounded like it had come from the main road, which meant Devol was in trouble.

  When Jazai blinked into view on the road, he was immediately shoved to the ground as something large streaked overhead. “What was that?” he asked in surprise as Devol helped him up and they both retreated a short distance. The bandit leader held a massive hammer—almost comically big in comparison to the large man—but he wielded it with intent to kill, which made it even more threatening.

  “It looks like he can increase the size and length of it as he pleases,” the young swordsman informed him and held his blade up. “It’s been quite tricky to get close.”

  “I can imagine. It’s only an exotic, though, so you should be able to guard against it easily with a majestic.”

  “It won’t break the blade,” he agreed and pulled his sleeve up to reveal a bruised arm. “But I still feel the hit. It tossed me into a tree a minute ago.”

  “Yeah, that would be a problem,” Jazai conceded and held his hands out. “I’ll see if I can get you an opening, although it would probably be easier if Asla was—”

  The wildkin launched out of the forest, leapt onto the leader’s back, and sank her claws into his armor.

  “You too?” Jett roared as he struggled to dislodge her. “Are all my men incompetent?” He was able to catch hold of her hair and yanked her off him. She struck with her claws and left scratch marks on his chest plate but little more. “You have to do more than whiff me, girlie!” He spat into the dust.

  Asla landed and bounded away to join her two teammates. “Good timing,” the young diviner remarked.

  “He has an Anima,” she told them. “Otherwise, that strike would have wounded him.”

  “Devol needs an opening,” Jazai stated. “Let us get it for him.”

  “All right.” She nodded, bared her teeth, and surged forward with him close behind.

  Devol began to prime his majestic with Mana and the light flowed quickly into his blade. Asla lashed out and her claws scored the leader’s armor as he swung his weapon at her. The hammer had enlarged enough to strike almost her whole body in one blow, but she was able to contort herself enough that it narrowly missed her and whistled overhead. She landed, jumped onto the hammer, and vaulted off to strike the man’s helm.

  The diviner moved close enough that he was only a few yards away and pointed at the brigand. �
��Chains!” he shouted. Immediately, links made of Mana slid around the arms and chest of their target and held him in place for a moment while Asla circled for another strike.

  Jett responded with an angry shout and his Mana flared. He broke the chains, snatched the wildkin in mid-air, and hurled her into the dirt, then raised his hammer to flatten her.

  As he prepared to swing his hammer, a bright light filled his vision and the young swordsman raced forward, prepared to sink his majestic into his chest. The leader shrank his hammer as he closed in, which allowed him to change the arc of his swing toward the young Magi. When his weapon met the sword, a blast of light and wave of force exploded from the clash.

  The majestic grew brighter and Devol pushed his blade forward. A second vivid explosion catapulted Jett off his feet and he hurtled along the forest path, his hammer following. He was finally stopped over a hundred yards away when he careened into a group of trees. Dazed, he struggled for a moment to stand but before he could get to his feet, his hammer drove into his chest and thrust him deeper into the forest.

  The trio looked on wide-eyed. Jazai and Asla turned to Devol. “Well…” the boy began and an amused grin snuck onto his face. “I don’t think that counts as Mana draining, do you?”

  The only response his teammates had was to shake their heads.

  Vaust was equally amused and excited. It had been a treat to watch the three handle their foes so deftly, and seeing Devol’s majestic in action was an impressive sight. He realized, however, any theory they currently had notwithstanding, that what it could do remained a mystery. Still, he would have to remember this moment as it would make a great story to tell the others once they finished their mission.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  After their run-in with the bandits, they searched their unconscious bodies and helped themselves to anything that seemed useful. Even Jett was only knocked out cold, much to their surprise, and they conceded that for all his nasty behavior, the man was certainly a worthy opponent if a somewhat broken one at that moment. They all agreed to not take the weapons as they were cumbersome and would slow their journey.

  With the procured supplies shared between them, the boys discussed taking the brigand leader’s exotic, which would certainly be of real benefit to the Templars—and prevent its use against unsuspecting travelers.

  Before they could agree on it, a loud growl and a flash of orange light ended their debate and they turned as one. A furious Asla clawed the hammer viciously and destroyed it. They watched her in silence. While they had to admit that this may not have been the plan they would have gone with, it was a fair compromise.

  The three continued until nightfall but were unable to find a cave or shelter nearby. The skies were clear, however, and no sign of impending rain meant they could easily build themselves a campfire and settle around it for the night. They found a river a short distance away, where they were able to refill their canteens and freshen up.

  Dinner was made from rabbits Asla had hunted followed by bread and various jams they had brought with them from the castle. Thereafter, they simply stretched beside the campfire, stared at the stars, and took a moment to rest.

  “You know, Devol,” Jazai began and turned on his side to look at the young swordsman. “You’ve been rather quiet since we started to make camp.”

  He shifted under his blanket and nodded. “I guess I have, huh? Sorry, I’ve been thinking about the last fight.”

  The diviner snickered as he flipped onto his back to look at the sky again. “You obsessing about your mistakes or something like that? I know you fighting types always seem to go on and on about things like that. We defeated them all in a few minutes. Nothing to—”

  “No, it isn’t that,” he interjected. “When I looked at the leader’s body, he was banged up good.”

  “Well, yeah.” The diviner chuckled. “You threw him a hundred yards and his hammer pounded into his chest. I have to admit I was surprised to see he was still breathing after that.”

  Devol tensed slightly before he sighed heavily. “I was too—and relieved, to be honest.”

  His teammates focused on him. “Were you worried you killed him?” the other boy asked.

  He nodded. “I’ve killed beasts and creatures. But another human?”

  Jazai regarded him with a thoughtful expression. “You are fairly young so I guess you’ve never had a fight end that way, eh?”

  The young swordsman shook his head. “No, I have not.” He rolled his eyes at his friend. “Have you?”

  “Not me, no,” the boy responded and looked away as a memory surfaced. “But when I was about ten, I was traveling with my father and I saw him kill a couple of guys.” He sighed when he recalled the incident. “We were ambushed on a road to Luxor or someplace like that by bandits very similar to those we fought. He dealt with most of them himself. I got a couple down too but two had exotics. They got the jump on my father and he… His instincts took over. He attacked them with a powerful cantrip. It wasn’t graphic or anything, but I knew they were dead even before they landed.”

  “Did it…disturb you?” Devol asked, his full attention on the diviner.

  Jazai shrugged. “Not disturbed, that’s too harsh—maybe unsettled?” He sounded uncertain and frowned as he tried to find the right words. “I remember feeling numb and taken aback. It was my first time seeing someone who was alive not seconds before suddenly gone. But at the same time, I realized what my father had to do in his line of work—and what he was capable of doing also hit me. I suddenly thought, ‘this is how it is,’ and it shocked me as much as the dead men did.” He turned his hand palm-up in a show of indifference. “He was quite apologetic that night that I had to see it, but he also used it as a moment to teach me what could be expected of me should I choose to walk the same path.”

  “And did that worry you?” Asla asked as she turned to join the conversation.

  He responded with another shrug before he rolled onto his back again and placed his hands behind his head. “I already knew about it on some level, even then. But seeing it happen is a very different thing. I guess it put it in perspective. I’ve had years to think about it since then and I’m prepared to kill if need be, but I’m sure it won’t be easy when it happens.” He glanced at the other boy. “Your pops is a guard captain, right? I’m sure he’s had to deal with some terrible people in that fashion.”

  Devol nodded and cast his mind back. “I know he has, but he’s never discussed it with me. He was even responsible for a few executions while I was growing up but I’ve never had to see it.” He considered it and thought about the bandit leader’s body. “I know that if I become a guardsman or a Templar or anything like that, I’ll have to get used to it. I guess I’m not that great at thinking ahead.”

  “I’ve come to that conclusion,” Asla interjected and although her tone didn’t contain malice or sound chiding, it still stung a little.

  He continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I thought this was a simple retrieval mission. I should have expected that we could run into complications like bandits. It is a wonder I did not run into so much as a peddler on my way to the Templar Order, I suppose. Even during the fight, I thought I could handle them without much trouble, but when I was pushed too far in the end and my majestic’s power came out…” He extended his hand to trace the sheath of his sword. “It could have ended differently, I guess.”

  Jazai mumbled an agreement but wasn’t sure what to say. He had found peace with the idea of having to maim or kill others over the years, but Devol seemed quite vexed about it at the moment. He didn’t feel right to simply tell him to buck up and deal with it, but it could end in tragedy for him if he pursued any profession that might demand that from him and he was not prepared for it.

  More immediately, it could cause issues with their mission if they encountered another complication like the bandits. He looked at Asla to see if she had any words of wisdom or comfort, but she stared off into the distance.

&
nbsp; “Do you see that bush?” she asked after a moment and pointed directly ahead. The boys sat quickly to peer at a rather large bush with many brown-red nubs along its branches. “Those seeds-like lumps are special. They are bloodflowers that have yet to bloom.”

  “Bloodflowers?” Devol asked. “I’m not sure I’m familiar with them.”

  She nodded her understanding. “They aren’t particularly common in the Monleans kingdom. Most consider them to be an ill omen. It is said that bloodflowers only bloom when someone is near who is either about to experience death or is quite familiar with it.” She brought her knees to her chest.

  “I’m not sure if you’ve seen the gardens we keep in the castle,” she continued, “but we have bloodflowers there, both blossomed and not. I pass them almost every day in the morning.” She bit her lip. “I am not sure how much I believe in many of these tales, but this one has always stayed with me. Blossomed bloodflowers are indeed beautiful, but that story always runs through my mind when I see them. I find some solace in that.”

  “You do?” the young swordsman asked. “How so?”

  The wildkin looked at him. “I plan to assist the Templars, grow with them, and see them restored to their former glory as thanks for what they have done for me. And I know that I too will one day have to kill both monsters and villains as many of them have. Seeing those beautiful flowers and thinking of that story reminds me that even when we must do something we prefer not to—or even in tragedy—something beautiful can come of it.”

  He was struck by her words and even Jazai’s eyes widened before he smiled and closed them as he lay back and shifted to make himself comfortable. It appeared that she did indeed have some wise words to say.

  Devol took one of her hands and she looked at him in surprise. He returned her look with one of calm and gratitude. “I do understand what you mean, Asla. Thank you.”