Always Walk Forward

by Billy Wong

  Before she could bring down the blade of justice, a door opened behind the Paladins and Eli stepped out. A brown-cloaked figure of average male height followed to stand silently behind him. Under the hood, she glimpsed a pointed chin and full lips. "Sam, Vincent?! Wait, stop! They haven't harmed me, I'm staying here voluntarily."

  "What?" Cordy shoved down the warrior Vincent had been about to bash in the head while she held him in a neck crank. He crawled away, past another Paladin slumped out cold against a wall while the last stood back hesitating. Beyond them, Giorg and Leland paused the duel they had begun.

  "I thought they had ill intentions towards me too," Eli said, "and their refusal to tell me anything strengthened that impression. But it turns out they were just trying to inure me to fear of the unknown."

  Sam pictured guiltily the fifteen men they had left lame behind them, some crying in agony as they woke from their forced sleep. Now this had been quite the misunderstanding...

  Chapter 8

  "I hope you haven't killed anybody for my sake," Eli said in a small voice.

  Leland scowled. "Unfortunately, it appears they have already eliminated the rest of our comrades." At that, Eli's jaw dropped.

  "We didn't kill them!" Vincent clarified. "We only... gave them broken legs, and possible lingering head injuries..."

  "The leg breaking was her idea." Sam pointed at Cordy.

  The knight shot her an annoyed look. "So what? At least I tried to spare lives, you just looked like you were going to kill this bucket-wearing idiot!" She lightly kicked the helm of the Paladin Sam had been about to finish, who groaned in response.

  "Well, I guess... I was lost in the moment."

  "It's good you didn't kill people at least," Eli said with a far from pleased expression. "How many of them did you break the legs of, though?"

  Sam averted her gaze. "Most of them. What have they been doing with you, if not harm you?"

  "They, uh, they've been teaching me magic. Turns out I have a rare gift for it, as I was able to shield myself from the flames during that fire long ago. I didn't remember, but since the Paladins learned about it they've wanted to recruit me." Then that cloaked one who stood in eerie silence by the door Eli had exited must be a mage, who had training him.

  Cordy walked up to him, glaring frightfully into his eyes. "Are you sure you're staying voluntarily? You haven't been brainwashed, have you?"

  He shrank back. "N-no, I'm still the same old me." He looked to Sam and Vincent for help. "I sound normal to you, don't I?"

  "Demeanor seems the same," Vincent said.

  "I wasn't sure I wanted to be a Paladin either, but they told me I didn't have to if I didn't want after my training. With what I know now, I'm leaning towards becoming one."

  Cordy strode over to Leland. She raised herself up on her tiptoes and leaned forward, digging her nose into his chin. Despite the height difference, the fresh sweat that glistened on his skin showed he was quite intimidated. "It's still your fault. If you had explained what you were doing in the first place instead of your secretive bullshit, none of this would have happened."

  "If we allowed the loved ones of potential candidates to make a case against us, we would end up with scant new recruits as most would be easily swayed. By separating them from their friends and kin, we are merely giving them a chance to decide based on their own best judgment."

  "A Paladin's loyalties must be to the order and the order alone," the one who had stood back added. "The reason taken recruits are never seen by their families again is because they are transferred to other cities after, for a Paladin must sever their old ties in order to give themselves to us completely. Our selection process is very successful, though. In our entire history, only two candidates have refused us, and one was a friendless outcast who desired nothing but death. I too was a taken recruit, and have no regrets about it."

  Cordy snorted. "Sounds to me like hearing only your side of the story might be meant to bias their decision your way."

  "Nevertheless," Leland said, "it is a choice made of their own free will."

  "Are you trying to tell you me you never take people to murder them?"

  "Actually, we do. That is one of our most important functions—but it is not the innocents who we 'murder' or to put it the way I prefer, remove. Those are the criminals who other servants of the law cannot touch, either for lack of evidence or fear of their power."

  "What about my daddy's love? Julianna Truwen, a singer who used to work the bars of Patuta."

  Leland seemed to think about it. "The name does not come to mind. I do not know every Paladin or criminal we have removed. If she was a recruit, perhaps she still serves with us now or died valiantly on a mission. Otherwise she must have been no small criminal, to your father's ignorance."

  She turned away, crossing her arms. "I don't know if I should believe you. If Eli vouches for you though, I suppose there isn't much I can do for now. I'll tell Daddy what you said, and see if he accepts that answer. Don't think you're necessarily in the clear yet." She started for the exit, then looked back. "I'll wait for ten minutes. If you aren't outside by then, I'll assume you aren't coming. And if you decide to stay here for any length of time? Keep your guard up. I wouldn't trust these bucketheads farther than I can throw them."

  "Are we just going to let her go?" asked the warrior she had been twisting the neck of, having finally recovered enough to speak.

  Leland replied, "We'll file a complaint later. If you want to chase after her, go ahead." The lower ranked Paladin didn't take him up on the offer.

  "I suppose I should leave too," Giorg said, "if the fighting's concluded. You were impressive, for young humans. I wish you a successful future." The anjeli followed Cordy out.

  Alone with her friends and the Paladins, Sam embraced Eli. Tears sprang from her eyes to feel his warm body, which she'd feared she would never hold again. "Whatever else has happened, I'm glad you're safe."

  Vincent and Eli shared a long hug too, then Vincent asked, "What now? Are you really planning to leave us for good?"

  Eli shook his head. "When you put it that way, I... I don't know. The prospect of never seeing you and the others again saddens me to no end. But I kind of feel like being a Paladin might be my calling. I know it's sudden, but I believe that here, I can truly contribute something to the world."

  "Then I'm sorry, I have to go. You'll always be my brother, but I don't fancy my chances of making it back without a strong escort, and doubt the Paladins will provide us one after what happened." They didn't deny it. "Cordy's waiting, so I wish you the best. You coming, Sam?"

  To be honest, her mind was reeling right now. Cordy giving them ten minutes to make such a choice seemed unreasonable, but she understood how the knight would be frustrated at having her and her father's triumph snatched from her right when it seemed at hand. She felt inclined like Cordy to distrust the Paladins. But if they couldn't be trusted, then it was unacceptable to leave Eli all by himself with them. "I can't. I'll stay and watch over Eli until I believe this is right for him, and make sure no harm comes to him in the meantime." As for making it back when it came time to leave, she would deal with that when she had to. Maybe she could wait until the Paladins were sending a group to Patuta anyway and go with them.

  "This would be highly irregular," one of the Paladins said, "to allow a non-recruit to stay with us. Will you allow it, Captain?"

  "Assuming you aren't doing anything wrong, what are you afraid for me to see? If you make me leave and I feel you're hiding something, I will continue to investigate with Cordy and her father until I get to the bottom of it. And if you let me stay, I'll help with what I can." She wasn't too enthusiastic about making that concession, but it was possible enough that breaking the men's legs had been unwarranted for her to make them some splints.

  Leland seemed to consider. "It's only one girl, what harm can she do? Maybe she'll even turn out to be a suitable Paladin."

  Meeting Sam's eyes, Vincent clasped
her shoulders. "You're braver than me, Sam. Good luck." With his eyes, he seemed to say, But what can you do alone if something goes wrong?

  "Thank you. You make it back home safely too." And I'm not alone. Drugamor is with me. But for how long depended on her supply of nuts.

  Vincent gave her a parting hug, then departed the same way Cordy and Giorg had. With everyone she'd fought alongside gone, Sam felt disconcertingly alone. Supposedly the Paladins weren't malicious according to Eli, but she couldn't help fearing she remained in enemy territory and the trap merely waited to close in. Eli seemed to sense her discomfort and said, "None of you better even think about touching a hair on Sam. If any of you or your comrades harms her, I will never ever help you." That seemed somewhat uncharacteristically bold of him, and made her smile. Maybe discovering he had magical talent, ironically thanks to the Paladins, had given him more confidence in expressing his wishes.

  "She will not be harmed," Leland said, a couple of his subordinates looking a tad dissatisfied. "Some whose legs you broke may require a stern warning to not seek retribution, but given how bad our image apparently is, you would be as good a start as any towards changing it."

  If not for their excessive secrecy, all of their legs might be intact. But since that alone might not justify the injuries she and her companions had inflicted, she suppressed her argumentative instinct. "Is there another place I can stay besides the barracks?" After all, even a temporary cripple could stab her to death in her sleep.

  "We have a couple of guest rooms. You may stay in the one Eli is using, or a different one if you like."

  "The same one is fine. We're used to sleeping together." And having two pairs of eyes to watch out for treachery could only benefit them.

  Leland and the other Paladins able to walk helped the worse hurt ones onto beds in the sleeping quarters. Then, as they lay writhing and moaning in wait for treatment, Leland let Sam in. "This is Samantha," he said as if use of her full name would casually establish his seniority and power over her. "She will be staying with us for a while, and help you with your recovery." She knew something he didn't, though. Her full name was Sammy, because her father had been odd that way, and he established nothing but his ignorance.

  One of the more coherent injured glared at her, murder in his eyes. "Her? We should kill her after what she did."

  "Now, now, I believe she has done nothing to warrant killing."

  "Then we should break both her legs, and see how she likes it!" another man yelled. She wasn't going to enjoy working in here...

  Nonetheless, she went around applying splints along with the healthier Paladins. She got punched, scratched, and had her hair pulled several times, but as long as it wasn't life-threatening she decided it wouldn't be worth it to complain. Once, when a man punched her too hard in the eye, she did retaliate by squeezing his leg and making him scream in pain. The minor attacks lessened after that, although she reminded herself to watch her back in the future.

  After the initial treatments were finished, Sam headed to her room thinking to check her nut supply. To her slight surprise, she found Eli there. She sat on the simple cot next to him. "Not training your magic?"

  "It's well past midnight. I'd normally be asleep, if not for all the chaos you just caused."

  She had forgotten what time it was in the excitement. "Sorry if you didn't want this. We were just really worried about you, so..."

  "It's okay. I'm grateful that you cared enough about me to challenge the feared Paladins for my sake. So you crossed the lands of daimons to get here, huh? You must have a lot of stories to tell."

  "I do, and not just of battles. The lackluster food we ate most of the time, sleeping in the rain... and good things too, like the landscapes we saw and how we learned to hunt, a little."

  Eli's eyes shone with curiosity, not drowsy at all now despite the time. "You had some strong allies with you—was that one an anjeli? Did you recruit them before leaving the city or did you and Vincent set out all by yourselves?"

  "We didn't meet Cordy and Giorg until much later." Sam giggled. "But though I'd love it if I could say me and Vincent made it to Patuta all alone, it wouldn't be true. Our fight scene-loving Big Sis led the way until, well, she decided to run back home to keep the playhouse afloat. Guided us to Cordy's doorstep for help, too."

  "Drea protected you and Vincent? It's too bad I probably won't get to thank her for that, considering..."

  "I'll pass on your thanks to her when I get back." There was little chance of her staying to become a Paladin, in her present view. "By the way, she's far stronger than any of us could have known."

  "So that wasn't just bluster after all. Were those scars of hers really from a daimon?"

  "The ones she showed us? She never actually said. But she got some new ones that were certainly from daimons."

  He recoiled. "Is she all right?"

  Recalling the torment Drea had endured, suffering so poignantly no matter how she tried to play it off as nothing, Sam felt like they owed her and might never be able to repay it. But then, Drea herself probably wouldn't view it that seriously. "She took pretty bad wounds, but seemed fine when we parted ways. I wonder where she comes from, to be that strong."

  "She must have fought some impressive battles if you're so awed by her."

  "She certainly did. But I'll have plenty of time to tell stories of our adventure later, so what about you? How have you been learning magic, and is it protection magic as I assume?"

  He nodded. "That is the only kind us humans can use, so of course. The mage Jacques has been honing my ability by having me practice defending attacks from a sword. I seem to have improved—at first I could only conjure a magic shield for an instant, so that I needed to time it like a parry for it to have any use, but now I can maintain a small frontal shield for at least a few strokes."

  "That doesn't seem like much. Sounds like it might be better just to stick with a regular shield."

  "I'm supposed to continue to improve. Eventually I should be able to project a shield onto others, as well as erect a full body shield that lasts indefinitely until broken."

  Covering yourself in a flawless barrier so you could concentrate on anything but defense, even if it would crumble after enough damage, did sound quite useful. "Those would be worthwhile skills. One question I forgot to ask Leland, though. Not all mages are recruited through the Paladins, are they?" His shake of the head confirmed it. "So why were you abducted by them, and not approached in some less devious-seeming manner?"

  "They tell me I have unusual potential, due to the long lasting shield I was apparently able to erect to save myself when I was young. I haven't been able to match that instinctual reaction under duress yet, but they say the fact it happened shows my potential to be high among human mages."

  Pleasantly surprised, Sam grinned. "So our Eli is a great talent after all? Jon and Joan chose talented orphans to raise."

  His face fell. "It's too bad they won't see my potential to be proud of it."

  "I'll let them know about it." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You know, you don't have to join the Paladins if you don't want to. There are other mages who aren't Paladins capable of helping you hone your skill, and killing criminals? I'm really not sure about you being cut out for that. I consider myself a bit of a warrior now and even I haven't killed people yet, only daimons."

  "Broke a lot of legs, though." They laughed together. "Yeah, I'm not too keen on the killing part either... but powerful mages are needed for the important work they do. It might be that since our magic is centered around protection, I won't have to get my hands too dirty when I'm mostly keeping others safe instead."

  "I'm unsure that not personally taking lives will make a giant difference when you're participating in a joint task. But if you decide this is the right choice for you, I won't stop you."

  They sat quietly for a short while. "Maybe we should go to bed. If it isn't disrupted by your actions, my practice starts early tomorrow."


  "Alright." She moved to the other bed and laid down under the rough blanket. A manly, Paladin-y blanket she supposed. "Good night."

  "Sleep well." He tugged his blanket higher to cover his shoulders though it wasn't cold at all, looking like a young scared boy uncertain of the future.

  When she heard him snoring and knew he had fallen asleep, she inspected her supply of nuts. Less than half left, dammit. She thought about saving them for if she was forced to fight given she no longer had to travel, but realized she couldn't. She could be betrayed at any moment, and needed to keep her abilities up at least most of the time since she might not summon Drugamor's power quickly enough if attacked in her normal state. She hoped the Paladins convinced her she could trust them soon, or she'd feel real vulnerable.

  #

  Sam spent the following days making crutches in preparation for when the injured Paladins could walk again. Many of the men here seemed to resent her, for which she couldn't completely blame them. It wouldn't be easy to like somebody who had raided your base and started breaking legs. Just don't try to kill me or display questionable intentions towards Eli, and we'll get along just fine.

  Otherwise, Drugamor said in her mind, they can be my prey. Reassuring.

  Eli came back tired but happy after his practices, which was all Sam could ask. She told him tales of her travels with Vincent, Drea, Cordy and Giorg in the evenings, and he updated her on his progress in training. One day, things abruptly changed. He returned from practice looking scared, and didn't want to talk about it. Sam's pleading for him to give her something fell on deaf ears. Why was he all of a sudden so secretive, when he openly described his sessions to her before? The Paladins must have told him to be quiet, and he dared not defy them. She would have to look into this on her own.

  She attempted the next day to visit Eli's training room which lay deeper in the base, but found her way barred by a pair of helmeted Paladins who said it was off limits. The faint sounds of movement she heard behind the door didn't give her nearly enough of a clue into what was going on. She tried again to pry into Eli's day when he came back shaken, again got nothing. It really worried her. She needed to see what they were doing to him, but how? Surely when they had two Paladins on guard, one of them had to pee sometime. Claiming to be sick to avoid crutch duty, she stalked their position until she saw one leave for the lavatory. She hid behind a door until he passed, then approached the remaining guard.