by Jeff Kish
Era is quick to chime in. “Well, can you trust us now?” Di nods fervently. “And do you have anything else to tell us?”
“There’s nothing else,” she answers without hesitation. “I don’t know why I have this level of control. No one at the Academy had any clue, but they worked with me to develop my talent. The faculty pulled all kinds of air shaping experts to come in and spend time with me.”
“Okay, okay, that’s a nifty skill,” Era interjects, “but how did that help you take out a mercenary?”
Jem throws her arms in the air and starts motioning. “That hunter girl had us beaten down at the gorge’s ridge when-”
“Wait, the merc was a girl?”
“Stay focused, Era!” Jem gripes. “Di threw her wall up as a shield between us, and I… well…”
Di points at Jem. “She used me as a plow! She grabbed me and… and…”
Era smiles. “What’d you do, push her off the ledge?” To his surprise, Di nods emphatically, unable to find the words to express her disapproval. Jem beams with pride at her heroic exploits, but Era’s brow furrows. “Did she survive?”
“Don’t you dare get on your high horse,” Jem warns. “You weren’t there, Era. I had no choice. It was kill or be killed.” He averts his eyes, and she hurriedly adds, “What’s with you two!? Geez, if it helps then maybe she survived. The slope wasn’t a straight drop, and I didn’t stick around to check her body.”
Era slowly shifts his attitude. “If you say it couldn’t be avoided, then it couldn’t be avoided,” he says, though he’s clearly still bothered.
“It couldn’t,” she insists. “Regardless, the Smith’s Hammer guild apparently took our little raid seriously enough to send a hunter after us. And where there’s one…”
Era sighs. “We’ll need to lay low from here on out, huh?”
“To think we’ll be dealing with this level of talent,” Jem groans. She tosses Era the needle she retrieved. “She used these against me and Di. Fortunately she missed, but that would have hurt. It sunk into a tree.”
He observes the projectile, about twice the length of a finger and thick enough to offer good weight. “So let me get this straight,” Era wonders aloud as he crosses his arms. “The girl wanted us alive, right? Poisoning me, not poisoning you two…”
“She was unraveling wire at one point, too,” Jem recalls. “She was ready to tie us up and herd us along somewhere.”
“But why alive?” he asks. “Why not kill us and take Di back if she’s so important?”
Jem shrugs. “Who cares? It could just be some kind of vendetta thing. You know the routine: capture us alive, make us wish we were dead, and so on.”
Di shudders at the thought. “How can you be so nonchalant about this? Someone just attacked us! With poison!!”
Jem pats her head. “Silly Di, you have no idea what this means to us, do you?”
“It means you’re worth a lot of money, Di!” Era explains with enthusiasm. “We found a good haul after all.” Though he expects a smile, she storms from the room and slams the door behind her.
“Was that too much?” Jem wonders aloud.
“Maybe,” he admits. “She’ll get over it.”
Jem sits on the edge of Era’s bed. With Di gone, the air in the room takes a dark turn as the two thieves ponder their predicament.
“Jem, do you think we’re in over our heads?” Era asks. “We can put on a show for Di, but we’ve never had to deal with Merc Market professionals. We came out alright this time, but… it sounds like it was entirely thanks to Di.”
“Neither of us have even had actual bounties on our heads,” Jem agrees. “I mean, other than a few small towns offering fifty venni for us, or whatever.”
Era nods. Their map has black X’s over certain towns, marking off where they had best not return, but nothing has ever followed them. Sighing, he admits, “I guess if we want to play with the big dogs, we need to be willing to dance, or something like that?” Getting only confusion from Jem, he says, “Well, my point is… we can’t stay unknowns forever. If we continue this lifestyle, we’ll end up aggravating the wrong person eventually, or we’ll end up marking every town in Valvoren with an X, right?”
Era expects Jem to laugh, but she seems uncharacteristically deep in thought. He frowns and asks, “You know my famous father? Have I ever mentioned him? He gave me a lot of good advice in life, but maybe none as important as this little gem: ‘When life gets rough, just go into hiding. Eventually even debt-collectors give up and stop looking for you!’”
Contrary to usual, the advice seems to strike a chord. She stands and offers Era her signature grin. “This time, when the job is done, let’s really lay low for a while. You know, like we were supposed to do after the last job.”
Era nods in agreement. “Sounds like a good plan.”
Jem stretches and yawns. “Well, good night. For all the money we just donated to this farce of a clinic, you’re the only one who gets a bed. You’d better enjoy it.” She leaves and closes the door.
The patient stretches and swings his legs off the bed, happy to find he was wearing his undergarments. He bounces a bit, finding he does feel back to full strength. He finds his sack of sand and forms a dense sword from the soft earth, wishing he could have fought with the skilled opponent.
He looks out the window, wondering if Jem killed the bounty hunter. If she survived the fall, and she knows he was poisoned enough to warrant medical care, it seems to him she’d know where to find them. Absent-mindedly shifting his sword, he wonders if he and Jem should leave Di behind to scout the surrounding woods. However, the moment he considers calling for Jem, he remembers her demeanor during their conversation. The encounter shook her more than she’d care to admit.
Era instinctively rubs the back of his head, remembering where Jem hit him the last time he went solo without permission. ‘I’ll just make one round,’ he tells himself as he throws on his cotton under tunic.
* * *
Jem wanders the hallway in a vain attempt to clear her head. Era certainly knows how to cheer her up, but doubt continues to plague her. He almost died in front of her, and she was powerless to do anything about it. Lost in her thoughts, she eventually finds herself on the front porch of the small clinic.
“I’m still not talking to you,” Di calls out, catching Jem by surprise. She hadn’t even noticed the schoolgirl sitting against the outer wall, her arms wrapped around her knees in front of her.
“Well, if it isn’t my little money bag!” Jem boasts. “How are you feeling? Valuable, I hope.”
“You put up such a front, Jem, but I know the truth about you.”
“The truth, huh?” she asks in amusement. “And what’s that?”
Di looks to the starry sky. “Back on the cliff, when I refused to let that ruffian fall? You held onto me, telling me to release my shield-”
“You really want to bring that up again?” Jem interrupts. “Trying to take us all over the cliff like that… You’d better not pull something so stupid again.”
A grin spreads across the girl’s face. “That’s just it. ‘Taking us all over the edge’… Jem, she wasn’t holding on to you. She was only clinging to me. You could have let me go and saved yourself, but you didn’t.” Jem looks at Di blankly as she continues, “No one cares about money that much. Not enough to let it pull them over the edge of a cliff. So… thanks. You and Era, you’re a great team. I feel safe with the two of you.”
Dejected, Jem leans against the wall with a sigh. “Di, I’m not sure… I mean, I can’t guarantee we’re going to get to Canterin safely. Not if they’re sending professionals like that after us. Era and I may make a great team, but we’re just not at that level.”
Di grimaces. “Climbing steep hills in peace suddenly sounds like a dream.”
Jem turns to head inside. “Well, hanging out here isn’t a good idea. Let’s turn in for the night. I think the doctor has a soft spot for us. He even gave us a pillow to sha
re!”
The girl contentedly waves her hand. “Sure, sure, be right in.” Jem reenters the clinic, leaving Di to wrap up her thoughts. The emotions from the day finally catch up with the young girl, and her eyes well up with tears as she longs for her father’s embrace.
Chapter 6
Perched atop a sturdy tree branch, Fire resists a shiver and rubs her hands together, keeping a close eye on the village entrance as the town lights are put out one-by-one. If not for the moon approaching its full phase, she likely wouldn’t have a chance of tracking anyone leaving the city. She massages her tender leg, which seems to have absorbed the brunt of her fall. By all rights, tumbling down the bluff should have caused significantly more damage.
She stifles a yawn, fighting against her exhaustion. Not surprisingly, the six million venni bounty has a way of keeping her body going, especially now that she’s confirmed her targets are authentic. Thinking back to all her experiences with air shapers, she has never seen anyone with near the ability to create an unbreakable wall of air. Despite her small frame, Fire is more than confident in her ability to deliver a sharp kick, so that wall should have easily shattered. To her, the girl’s abilities are confirmation she has the right trio.
Still, they act as though they aren’t aware they’re being pursued. They travel in the open. They interact with others. They even make fires at night. Given the male’s condition and their poor decision-making, it’s almost certain they found the nearest village for treatment. Once Werran is asleep, she’ll visit the town doctor and, with any luck, finish the job.
A distant branch snaps. Fire’s heart skips a beat. She listens intently until, to her amazement, Era enters her field of view. ‘How is he moving already!?’ She grips her throwing needles, but he moves behind a tree as he poorly sneaks through the area.
As he moves away from Fire, she decides he must be baiting her toward his friends, and her lips curl in amusement. It will be easy to drop him from a distance and deal with the others afterward, just like last time, though she reminds herself she can’t risk using a second dose of poison.
She drops from her perch, but her injured leg gives out on impact. Biting her tongue, she snags a thin branch to catch herself, but it snaps and sends her loudly to the ground. She hurries to her feet, forcing back the pain while cursing her failure to keep her stealth. Hugging a tree, she grips her needles and waits, confident she can yet get the drop on him.
“It’s you, isn’t it!?”
The voice nearly startles her into falling backward. She clumsily flings her needles at the source, but the figure ducks behind a log. Again cursing her mistakes, she spins around a tree to take cover. To her delight, her opponent recklessly charges her, and she reaches for more needles. However, she finds only one remaining, a reminder that she lost most of her supply in the tumble down the cliff side.
Drawing her dagger at the last moment, she intercepts an earth club aimed at her head, and her leg barely keeps her upright as she deflects Era’s clumsy strikes. Despite her tactical disadvantage, her heart races with excitement at the sight of her target.
To her fortune, Era disengages and backs off. “Listen, I don’t want to hurt you. Just tell me what-”
Fire interrupts the speech by lunging at him with blade extended. Whether by skill or luck, Era manages to intercept it and continue deflecting her follow-up strikes while stumbling backward. “Wait!” he calls out, huffing and puffing. “Hey, I was trying to-”
The skilled hunter’s blade shatters Era’s earth sword, and she swiftly kicks him in the gut. Era hits the ground and rolls to his back in pain.
Not letting up, Fire leaps onto his chest, but Era slams her in the chin and rolls them over to position himself on top of her. He firmly clamps her two wrists above her head and shakes her dagger loose. Cringing from his injury, he barks, “Now, listen! I want to know who you-”
Fire headbutts Era in the forehead. He reels back, and she uses her legs to flip him over her head. However, the move does more harm than good as Fire grabs her injured leg in agony.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Era snags his downed opponent’s dagger and stares at it in disbelief, shocked she was able to shatter his earth blade with it. As Fire scrambles to her knee, Era clears his throat and says, “I need you to answer my questions.”
“What is it you want to know?” Fire asks while subtly reaching for her side pouch.
“Deep voice for such a small girl,” he muses, pleased to finally elicit a response from her. “I want to know why you’re after us. Tell me who put the bounty on our heads! Oh, and also what the bounty is.” Uncertain, he mumbles, “What else should I ask?”
Fire glances around, wondering where the other targets could be. They should have engaged by now if they’re nearby. “So, who’s the girl?”
“She’s just someone we- wait, no, I’m not answering your questions, either!” he exclaims. “Now start talking or-”
She flings her needle at him, which plunges into his right arm. As he yanks it out, she staggers toward him and punches him in the gut, then swings him to the ground. As she brings her good leg up to kick him in the head, the dirt below her shifts and forces her to stumble. The earth shaper pulls a blunt club from the soft ground as he stands, snaps it into two pieces, and flings one half at her. Off-balance, she instinctively brings her arms up to defend, but loose sand is all that hits her. She furiously rubs the dirt from her eyes as Era lunges forward and jams his club into her stomach. With Fire gasping for air, he grabs her arm, swings her around in a circle, and sends her careening toward a tree. She glances off the trunk and spins to the ground.
“That’s what you get for that sneak attack!” Era yells, rubbing his bleeding arm. “Give a little warning, will you!?”
Fire’s entire body trembles with intense hatred for her amateur opponent. As she stands, the tree branches above swoop down and wrap themselves around her. With a yelp, she swats the limbs aside, but one snatches her ankle and hoists her into the air upside-down. More wrap themselves around her wrists, completely restricting her movement.
Era watches the whole event in awe. He steps away from the living tree and looks around frantically for whoever just interrupted their fight.
He doesn’t need to wait long, as a bellowing laugh emanates from behind Fire’s tree. Walking around the trunk, the newcomer beams at his prey and crows, “Long time no see, Fire!”
“Jaras?” she gasps. Struggling to escape, she barks, “Let me down, you incompetent sleazebag! How are you-” She notices his palm planted firmly on the tree trunk. “You’re a wood elementalist!? How is that even…?”
“What, did you expect something else? Oh, that’s right, I had you convinced I was a terrible water shaper. How you were dumb enough to fall for that trick, I’ll never know.”
Fire grunts as she tugs at the branches. “Jaras, you scum, if you steal my bounty from me, I’ll tear you to pieces!”
“Ah, yes, the bounty,” Jaras half-whispers as he turns his attention to his valuable target.
Era has backed off, watching for an opportune moment to slip into the shadows. With the hunter’s eyes now on him, he freezes and scratches his head. “W-Who, me?”
Jaras sees millions of venni flash before his eyes. “I’d expect nothing less of Fire than to track down such a high-priced target in two short days.”
Realizing he’s in over his head, Era continues to back off, keeping an eye on the new arrival as he prepares to run. Jaras stares him down but doesn’t move a muscle, maintaining his hold on the tree and, by extension, Fire. She grunts and struggles with all her might to escape the branches. “Jaras!”
Jaras gives an annoyed glance to his captive. “Shut up, Fire! He’s not yours anymore, so butt out!”
Era dashes into the dark forest, and Fire lets loose a rageful howl. “Do you have any idea what I had to do to track these guys down!? I’m going to gut you for this!”
Without so much as a twitch, Jaras makes the tree lo
wer his upside-down victim to eye-level. “Want to hear something funny, Fire?” he asks. “There’s a two million venni bounty in front of me, and yet I’m more interested in you. I really didn’t expect that.” A free branch whips Fire across the face, spinning her around. “I’ll catch up with the kid, later. For now, let’s have some fun… just the two of us.”
Fire twists and spits in his face. “You don’t have the guts to kill me.”
Jaras calmly wipes the saliva off his cheek and strikes Fire in the stomach. “Who said anything about killing you?”
* * *
The leaves crunch loudly under his feet as Era races back toward town, anxious to fill Jem in on his fight with the hunters and escape town while they’re battling each other. As he rubs his needle wound, he finds himself concerned for the mercenary he’d been fighting. Though he tries to shrug it off, her plight continues to nag at him.
Frustrated, he slows to a stop and smacks the back of his own head. “Idiot!” he cries in his best Jem impression. “Now’s your chance to escape!”
“I know,” he moans. “It’s just that-”
He smacks himself again. “No! You’ll never be a Master Thief like this! What would your father say?”
It doesn’t take long for his idol’s voice to echo in his mind. ‘Use others’ misfortune to your benefit.’ He knows he should run, yet, with a sigh, he turns around and whispers, “Sorry Dad, I’m still not very good at this.” He runs back toward the hunters, taking care to move silently.
As he approaches, he hears a loud snap followed by distant voices. He moves with greater urgency, and he can soon make out the voice.
“Come on, Fire, just one scream! You owe me that much!” Jaras yells as he again whips Fire across her back with a limp tree branch.
Era takes position behind a bush. Forming a club, he wonders about the best strategy for battling a wood elementalist.
“I’ll have you know, Fire, that I pride myself in my ability to hunt without killing,” he brags. “I’m not a filthy assassin like you are.”
