by Randi Darren
It was about the size of a playing card, but covered in strange runes made of straight lines.
“And before I go, this city is a preparation stage. There’s a military site east of here. Everything sent to the ‘capital’ here really goes there. In fact, there’s another army forming up there even now to go lay waste to your precious people. They’ll be leaving in a few days or so.
“Consider it a parting gift for doing what I couldn’t,” Seville said with a smile.
Then he bent the card in two. A crackle of lightning formed from the card, and a second later, Seville was gone. His clothes, everything that had apparently been in his pockets, and a few fillings were all that was left of him.
Taking a breath, Vince lowered the weapon, staring at where Seville had been.
Just as suddenly, a black-haired man with blue eyes popped into existence next to where Seville had been sitting.
He was dressed strangely, almost similar to Felix, actually.
“Eh?” said the man.
Bending down, he rifled through the clothes and then looked over to Vince.
“Ho, what are you doing here then?” he asked. “Oh, it’s you.
“Of course it’s you. Why wouldn’t it be you?
“Because everything just has to work out that way. Doesn’t it?
“And, of course, he’ll know about this soon enough, too. Well shit.”
Vince felt every single instinct he had go up in arms. His skin prickled and it felt like his soul was screaming at him to fight or run.
He immediately raised the pistol and pulled the trigger.
Nothing happened.
“Ah,” said the man, holding up a finger. “Sorry about that. Wasn’t quite my intention for that to happen to you, alright? I only wanted to know who you were and more about you.
“I forget there are some people who can feel it.”
Vince pulled the trigger twice more as he reached backward with his free hand for the doorknob.
“How about you just stop right there?” asked the man. Freezing in place as if it were a command, Vince couldn’t move.
“Explain what just happened,” the man commanded.
Holding his teeth shut so hard his jaw ached, Vince glared at the man.
Sighing, the man pressed a hand to his head.
“Ok, look. I don’t want to harm you. I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to know what happened here.
“I’ll owe you a favor, alright?” offered the man. “And here, let’s just… get rid of that for a second.”
Pointing a finger at Vince, the man made a clicking noise.
The rage, the desperate need to flee, and the fear all vanished in a second.
“There. That’ll last for ten minutes or so. Now, do we have a deal?”
“I don’t even know who you are. How could I know the value of a favor from you?” Vince asked.
The man blinked with a frown. Looking up at nothing above him, the man moved his head back and forth as if ping-ponging a thought around.
“That’s fair. I am… uh… let’s go with a god. I’m a god, and I have a fairly wide range of powers. After you finish up your little war with the Tri-lliance, I’ll visit again and you can collect on your favor then.
“That way you have some time to think on it.
“Now, do we have a deal? Offer is fading fast.”
What if I can get the others back? Karya, Daphne, Green, Petra?
“His name was Seville. He said his job was to destabilize this world.
“Their goal was to get what he called the guardian to show itself.
“Seville left after he bent a card in half,” Vince said, keeping everything as simple as possible.
“Seville? I don’t… I’ll have to check that later. As to the guardian, fat chance of that.
“He’s been long gone for a while and no one wanted to take on the mantle. Though it seems I’ve done a disservice to this world in not having one,” the man said with a sigh. “Alright, off with you.”
Without a noise, sound, or hint of anything, the man vanished, taking everything Seville had left behind with him.
Turning, Vince opened the door and left the building as quickly as he could.
No sooner had the door closed than he felt his instincts kick back in.
Setting off at a dead sprint, Vince ran down the street as fast as he could.
He didn’t know where he was going or why he needed to run, but he wanted to get away from the building as far and as fast as possible.
And away from whoever that man was who had claimed to be a god.
Vince knew the divine existed. He’d never prayed and had never been the religious type, but he knew they existed.
Though Vince had never expected to bump into one.
Run on, Ranger.
Chapter 36
Vince opened the door to their shared room and slipped inside.
He’d made it to the inn just as it was clear a curfew was being enacted.
Apparently the city was on a much higher alert than he’d originally thought.
That or they found out what I actually did do Arandas, rather than a rumor.
Red was curled up in a ball on the bed. Her face was pressed in tight against her knees, her arms wrapped around her shins.
She was shuddering uncontrollably as well.
“Welcome back,” Leila said from a chair next to the bed.
“She alright?” Vince asked, his voice coming out a bit more gruff than he expected.
“As well as could be expected for someone who just took on a full soul curse that would turn anyone into a soulless, undead, heart-eating monster.
“Otherwise, she’s fine,” Leila said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I imagine she’ll be Red by morning. Much like how she’s been up until a few months ago, really.”
“Good work then. As a Warlock, you’re rather impressive,” Vince said, coming over to stand next to Leila.
“Well, thank you. I do pride myself on my work. Though I didn’t expect to become the only Warlock of an entire country,” Leila said, peering up at him.
“I imagine you’ll probably have to start fending off people who want to become apprentices after this.
“Any plans for that?”
Leila sighed and folded her hands together. “I suppose. I’ll take a few who have potential and turn the rest out. The problem is that anyone I take in as an apprentice is going to have to swear a number of oaths.
“Can’t risk someone running around with the capability of doing what I’ve done, after all.”
“Yes… we’ve created a bit of an arms race, I imagine. Let’s hope you can develop a counter to it before someone else figures out what you’ve done.”
Leila blinked several times while staring up at him. Then she groaned and pressed her hands to her temples. “Yes. I suppose I really will have to figure out a counter, won’t I?
“Ah… I wonder… what if I created a giant inverted version of it? One that’s dormant until activation and—”
“Yeah, hold on to all that till we’re home. No sense thinking on it now.
“So, I think I have a pretty ideal location. Care to go on a midnight walk with me? Is she alright if we leave her alone like this?” Vince asked, hooking a thumb at Red.
“Yes… you’ll need to feed her as soon as she comes to her senses, but I don’t think that’ll happen till the small hours of the morning.
“Otherwise… let’s go for that walk.”
Sneaking out of the inn wasn’t very difficult.
Once they’d made it to the street, it was an entirely different matter though.
Soldiers patrolled constantly. Anyone seen outside was immediately challenged.
Vince and Leila peered out of a small street, watching a group of men get interrogated by a patrol.
“Their security seems to have ramped up considerably,” Leila said.
“Yes. I’m not quite sure what caused it.
�
��I mean, we can assume it was what we did in Arandas, but for all we know, it could be that Thera and the soldiers are just north of here.
“Could be anything,” Vince said.
Suddenly, the patrol leader lashed out with his blade, skewering the man in front of him.
In a rush, the soldiers fell on the other group and began to stab and chop at them.
Even as the other group begged for mercy and pleaded their innocence.
“G-g-goodness,” Leila murmured.
“Yeah. Been a while since I’ve seen Waste law in a city,” Vince said.
“Not since Yosemite,” Leila agreed.
The soldiers rifled the pockets of the cooling corpses, then marched off. Leaving the bodies where they fell.
“Alright, the park is up ahead,” Vince said. “Let’s go. If we get stopped, just follow my lead.”
“Your lead? You’ll probably just stab them once they get close enough.”
Ignoring her, because she wasn’t wrong, Vince stepped off the street and onto the boulevard. Keeping to the shadows along the wall and out of the moonlight, he crept along.
Not running across any other activity, Vince slipped through two pillars and entered a large park.
He’d explored it briefly just before sunset and found it rather secluded but full of plant life.
Trees, bushes, animals—a whole small reserve.
He’d seen guards there during the day, presumably to keep the garden clean and healthy.
Now though, there didn’t seem to be a single guard.
Which meant they were all pulled for the night patrols, or this was simply a cursory type of guard detail.
“I don’t feel any souls,” Leila said softly.
“Wait, you can do that?” Vince asked curiously, looking at her.
“Kind of… it’s more of a recent thing. After tinkering with Red for so long, it just became natural.
“Open her up, inspect her soul, see what’s changed and where it’s weak, shore it up. Close her back down.”
“You’ve been ‘tinkering’ on her soul?”
“Had to. It was degrading rather quickly. Her curse was falling apart faster than I could put it back together, and her soul was trying to knock it out of her at the same time.
“Her soul wouldn’t have been able to support itself if it had succeeded.
“So I was deliberately reinforcing the curse while shoring up her soul.”
“What… what exactly does that mean for her now?”
“It means Red is a living, breathing Beastkin. One who can survive entirely on normal means.
“One who will have an immortal life span, due to her curse, and will need feedings regularly from you, but not daily. Perhaps weekly.”
“And you did that.”
“Yes. I’m quite proud of my work recently,” Leila said, putting her hands on her hips.
“I am as well. You’re an amazing Warlock. And I appreciate you. Now, do you have the cannister?” Vince asked, kneeling down in the middle of the small grassy area he’d chosen previously.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
Leila reached into the pouch next to her and pulled out the weapon of mass destruction.
Vince had already dug a small hole with his hands and was rapidly working on expanding it.
“Any idea how you’re going to make it so that thing goes off while we’re not here?” Vince asked.
“I’m drilling a very small hole in it. So small that just a tiny thread of energy will enter. Eventually, it’ll be enough that the soul simply grows too large and pops the housing open.
“Then it’s going to revert to its programing.”
“Hopefully long after we’re gone.”
“Well, yes. But I think it’ll take at least two days for it to hit that point.
“I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.”
Vince nodded and flung a final handful of dirt into the nearby grass.
“That enough?” he asked, looking at the hole.
“Should be. Here, back up. I’ll handle it. I can always repair it if I think it’s about to go,” Leila said.
“Good idea.”
Getting to his feet, Vince idly brushed his hands across his thighs and looked around.
A quick movement to one side caught his attention.
Dashing forward, Vince launched himself into a bush.
Grasping hold of the shadow, he dragged it free of the twigs and leaves, pulling it out into the grass.
He heard the deep intake of a person preparing to scream. With a quick decision, he slammed his elbow down into what he assumed was their stomach.
A whoosh of breath washed over his face, telling him his blow had been accurate.
Grabbing the person by the front of their clothes, Vince dragged them back toward Leila.
“You catch them, Vince?” asked the Gnome, not looking up from her task.
“Whoever or whatever it is, yes. Didn’t get a chance to look at it yet,” Vince said, dropping the person down next to the hole.
Squatting down, he looked to his prisoner.
It was a young woman. Probably no older than fourteen. Brown hair, brown eyes, human looking.
She was dirty, grime covered, and looked as if she’d been living in the gardens.
Struggling for breath, her wide eyes stared at him, her hands pressed to her stomach.
Vince clicked his tongue. There wasn’t much he could do until she was able to talk again, as far as getting answers.
“Since all you can do is listen, I’ll make this simple and easy.
“I’m contemplating whether to kill you or let you live. You’ll need to be able to convince me why I shouldn’t crush your throat,” Vince said.
“A little melodramatic,” Leila said.
Laying the cannister down into the hole, she began to repack dirt around it.
“Maybe. But that’s the reality of the situation. I’m not sure I want to let someone run around knowing we were mucking about here,” Vince said.
“Hum. That’s a rather grim thought to consider. I’ll lay a trap on the cannister that if anyone tries to dig it up, it’ll simply detonate itself,” Leila said.
Finishing up with filling in the hole and moving the grass back over top of it, she laid her hands down over the disturbed soil.
“Homeless,” gasped the girl. “Food.”
Vince turned his head to one side, looking at her.
“You’re homeless, and you were looking for food here?” Vince asked.
The girl nodded her head.
“Brothers,” she wheezed out.
Sighing, Vince scratched at his jaw.
Would be easier to kill her.
If I just leave her alone, the Dragon will kill her anyway, won’t it?
“Look,” Vince said, coming to a decision.
“Please. They need me,” whispered the girl, managing to take soft, ragged breaths now.
Closing his eyes, Vince pressed a hand to his face.
If Eva were here, she’d have already scolded me into the ground.
“Fine. Go. Tell only those you want to survive, but don’t warn the military. They’ll just inspect it and try to figure it out, and set it off.
“Get your family and friends out of the city as fast as you can and get as far away as you can.”
“But… we’ve never left the city,” said the girl.
“Then die here. Stay or go, I care not.
“You ready?” Vince asked, turning to Leila.
“Yes, this should be good. Don’t touch this, girl, and don’t tell others about it. It’ll just break and kill everyone much earlier than it should. That’s all,” Leila said, getting back onto her floating disc of air.
The girl got to her feet when it was clear neither Vince or Leila was going to make a move.
Turning her back on the pair of them, the girl shambled off into the garden.
“Think she’ll listen?” Leila asked.
“Mm. Depe
nds on if she’s the leader of her family. If she is, they might just leave in time.
“If not… well… not my problem.”
“Mm, fair enough. Now, are you sure about this? Once we leave, we can’t really come back. We’ll need to leave tomorrow morning and get as far away as we can.
“And once this gets activated, there’s no going back. The city will be wiped out, the lands around it will be wiped out—everything.”
“Yes… everything. Including the army assembling to the east,” Vince acknowledged.
“An army? What?”
“Apparently there’s an army to the east being assembled.
“Which, when you think about it, kinda makes sense. I’m sure they’re well aware of what’s going on in Yosemite.
“They have quite a massive population, from what we’ve heard. All they have to do is conscript more soldiers and send them forth.
“They can drown us in numbers, even if they’re just conscripts.”
Leila sighed heavily at that.
“And that’s why you want to create a demilitarized zone. You don’t think we can win.”
“No. We can’t win. We’ll lose eventually. It isn’t really a question.
“Their country is pretty much a one-party dictatorship. If they want to bury us in soldiers, they can.
“It’d put a strain on them, but it’s not as if they couldn’t weather it long enough to crush us.”
“Truly?” Leila asked.
“I can’t see the future, but… I can’t see us winning a protracted war where we aren’t holding them to a small area or preventing them from even getting at us.
“And last we heard… Thera was being pushed back by two armies. A third is now on the way.
“The idea that we can push them back and then hold them in a choke point, to keep them at a line in the sand, doesn’t seem possible.”
Leila looked away, her eyes falling to the grass around them.
“No. When you put it like that… it doesn’t really seem plausible, does it?”
“It doesn’t, no. We’re banking our entire strategy on this, because while I think Thera is incredibly qualified and a fantastic general and warrior, I don’t think we can survive this.”
“I can see why you’ve already decided on this course of action, then. Is there even a point in seeing if they’re willing to surrender after this city goes up?”
