by A J Witt
“You’re right.” She sighed. “What now?”
“I’ve been asking myself the same question for several days.”
“At least you have somewhere to return to.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere without …”
“Without what?” asked Sabine.
Kyran could feel his heart racing. “Without you.”
“Me? We’ve only just met.”
“And thank the Gods for that.”
They kept quiet following the Adept’s cunning reply, until she put a hand on his leg.
“I promised I wouldn’t try anything,” Kyran whispered.
“Yes, I know,” Sabine whispered back. “I don’t want … that … I just don’t … don’t …”
“Just don’t what?”
“I just don’t want to be alone.” The young woman laid her head on Kyran’s shoulder.
The Adept gently brought her closer in. He tenderly caressed her long brown hair. They stayed like that for a while, then leaned back onto the bed and cuddled under the covers.
Sabine pulled Kyran’s arm tightly, and she could feel the warmth of his strong chest as she curled into him. For the first time in days, she felt safe. Her head rested on the Adept, his slow, rhythmic breaths gradually lulling her to sleep.
And the young man could think of not a single place he would rather be.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Rex Ruga barged into Tuka’s inn shortly before midnight. “You!” Grabbing Pluto by the neck, the commandant dragged the performer to the nearest wall. “I vow to all the Gods, if they’re not in this village, I will strangle you with my bare hands.”
“Ruga?”
The commandant ignored her Master of Arms. “You’ve had chance after chance after—”
“Ruga!” shouted Gorgios.
“What?”
“Look!”
Edvon froze by the fireplace. The Overseers also remained still, too incredulous to act.
Gorgios barked out a familiar command. “Get him!”
The Adept reacted quickly, leaping across the room and grabbing a chair. He held it out, jabbing several advancing Overseers and keeping them at bay.
“Don’t be stupid,” said Rex Ruga. “There’s nowhere for you to hide.”
Edvon had just struck one of his assailants in the chest when a fairly drunk Criss came stumbling through the front door, struggling to cradle an absurdly large pile of coins. She dropped them at the sight before her. “What in th—the dread … were you two slee—ping together?”
Confused, everyone turned to the hallway leading up to the rooms, where a half-naked Ruan stood with Neeta by his side.
“I … I don’t—” The officer paused, baffled by both the question as well as the presence of Edvon and the Overseers. “What are you … what …” Noticing Joss and Pluto ogling her only added to her complete and utter confusion. “I don’t know what to say.”
“By Gods,” Edvon muttered. “Did you two sleep together?”
“She just asked that!” exclaimed Ruan. “What do you care, anyway?”
“Not you. You!”
Standing even further back in the hallway, Kyran and Sabine were holding hands.
“Yes, we did. And if—” Sabine noticed Rex Ruga. “Wait, how did she … how …”
Deeming the ensuing silence auspicious, Pluto took the floor. “Okay, looks like we’ve got a full house here. So Joss and I will kindly see our way out, and—”
“You stay where you are,” barked the commandant, without breaking eye contact with Sabine. “You two just made an extra twenty-five hundred coins.”
Pluto looked at Joss with raised eyebrows. “Very well, then.” The two performers casually sat down by the fireplace. “Carry on.”
Rex Ruga was ready for immediate action. “Get the girl, too.”
Her Overseers moved toward the stairs.
“Ev—everyone stop!” ordered Criss. “You’re all u—under arrest.”
The commandant laughed. “And in which capacity?”
“I’m the a—acting Chief of the Battalion.”
“Then why don’t you go act someplace else,” warned Rex Ruga, “or you’ll hurt yourself.”
“I wi—ll do no such thi—”
Gorgios violently shoved Criss out. The agent went tumbling into dirt still wet from the recent shower.
“Hey!” yelled Neeta. “You can’t do that.”
“I can do whatever I want,” the behemoth Overseer answered. “And you’re next if you don’t get out of our way.”
“Never!”
The dramatic one-word reply made Pluto giggle.
“I’m giving you two a last chance to move,” declared Gorgios, “or I swear to Auralus, you will regret it.”
Ruan obliged. “Neeta, come here,” he implored, holding out his hand. “This isn’t worth it.”
The officer turned to face the personal attendant. “Gods, did I misjudge you … I thought you had some pride.”
“This isn’t about pride. It’s about self-preservation.”
“That means nothing if you don’t have something worth preserving.”
“So be it.” Gorgios charged.
The first bang to come that night, albeit the quietest of the three, resulted in the giant being launched across the room. He went slamming into the wall. Standing in the doorway was Gavin, eyes shining brightly and staff extended out in front of him.
“What!” Edvon exclaimed. “You’re an Adept?”
Gorgios slowly rose to his feet and unsheathed his broad sword. “A dead Adept.” He spat red mucus onto the carpet.
“Let’s just calm down,” said Lecarn as he entered the inn with his crew.
“Y—you!” Ruan stepped forward. “I don’t know who’s on what side, or what the Gods is going on. But whoever’s trying to kill him, I’ll be glad to assist.”
The performers clapped their hands, delighted by the plot twist.
Rex Ruga was at the limits of her already notoriously thin patience. “You can figure that out some other time. We’re here for the Adepts, and we’re not leaving without them.”
“Shut up,” cut in Xavier, shocking the commandant. “Lecarn, this isn’t a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we specifically picked out Jasper as a probable target for the next attacks. And—”
“Jasper?” interjected Ruan. “Village attacks? You too?”
Lecarn was in agreement. “This can only lead to one conclusion.”
“Someone here is the cul—culprit!” exclaimed Criss through the entrance.
They all remained perfectly still.
“I know nothing about the attacks,” Rex Ruga claimed, “but I do know what will happen now. Kill them all!”
A second bang resonated throughout the inn and the fireplace crumbled. At the top of the stairs, Stakel was holding a fuming Source-powered gun dating from the Dread Days. She hobbled down the steps, her hair dripping wet.
“First off, you’ll each be paying out of your pockets to fix that,” the caretaker announced in her screechy voice, pointing toward the fireplace she had just blasted. “And what in the cholee is this ruckus?” Stakel reached the lobby. “You interrupted my bath.”
“Bath?” repeated Pluto. “Are you sure those are working for you?”
The caretaker swiveled toward the performers. “In my entire life, I’ve—”
She never finished her sentence, on account of the third and final bang. A ray of blinding light cut straight through Stakel’s head. Neeta, standing closest to the caretaker, gasped in horror as half the woman’s face slid off, and her body slumped to the floor.
“We’re under attack!” came a shout from outside.
They ran out of the inn. Wick, mouth wide open, was standing there, staring at the sky. From above descended an object of massive proportions, discharging beams of light into Tuka’s houses and blowing them into smithereens. Frightened villagers besieged
the inn as the surreal scene unfolded.
In utter terror, Edvon turned around to locate his brother, but Kyran was nowhere in sight. The older Adept pushed his way past the villagers and dashed back into the inn. Flames from the destroyed fireplace had spread onto the floor, consuming old wood and filling the entire area with thick smoke. Coughing, Edvon spotted Rex Ruga pinning Kyran down, and he sent a swift Source blast in her direction. The commandant keeled over in pain. “Come on!” shouted Edvon as he pulled his sibling to safety. They were only a few steps outside when a beam of light hit the east side of the building. The sound of the explosion was deafening, soon followed by a rain of rubble and shards that landed blocks away. Stakel’s inn had been demolished.
A magnetic force field engulfed the village as the hovering object landed. Individuals bearing arms bolted out, yelling and shooting beams of light at the Dominioners. “Get on the ground!”
“What's going on here? I have the …” The loquacious villager was promptly blasted in the head.
“I said get on the ground!”
Everyone held their hands up and knelt down. The invaders rounded them up, dispassionately executing those who did not immediately comply with their commands. They patted down the captives, confiscating anything they found. When the attackers got to Gorgios, he pulled out his weapon. Instead of handing it over, the senator hollered like a madman and brought it down on the unsuspecting Gavin standing right next to him. The sharp steel sliced through the old Adept like a knife through butter.
“No!” screamed Lecarn.
Gorgios tossed his sword to the ground.
The invaders howled with laughter. “What a big boga.”
“Boga worth a fortune. Separate him from the others.”
“Ay meseh.”
Two of them grabbed Gorgios by the sleeve, walked him to their vessel, and disappeared from sight.
“Put the others in Cargo Bay T.”
A large hatch opened, revealing an enclosure with metal walls. The invaders pushed the Dominioners inside.
Zoel protested. “I’m not going in there.”
“Just be quiet and follow,” Lecarn whispered.
“No, I’m not—”
The bounty hunters shuddered as another of their own succumbed, a fatal blast in the back of her head. Leaving no room for ambiguity, the abductors faced little resistance as they corralled the rest in the bay. And within minutes, they retreated into the sky, leaving Tuka smoldering and destroyed.
EPILOGUE
The large hatch had yet to shut and a cold wind whipped through Cargo Bay T as it ascended. A patch of turbulence sent the Dominioners tumbling in all directions. Lecarn lost his footing and caught himself on a floor railing, half his body swaying outside the craft. One man heard his shouting over the howling gusts.
“Need help?” called out Ruan.
Lecarn looked at the man he had maimed and understood the true meaning of fate. “I’m sorry.”
Ruan nodded and stomped on the once-Noble’s fingers. Lecarn plummeted toward the ground. He could see Phaidros in the distance, the streets of his childhood. The city he had wholeheartedly abandoned. A surge of memories flooded his mind. His parents. Friends. Love interests. Everything he had done, everything he had lived for. The visions faded from sight, along with the capital, the closer he neared his end. Beneath him, the tepuis were growing in size. Above, the little dot was about to disappear.
And while the others flew away to new beginnings, Lecarn smiled one last time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A.J. Witt lives in Manhattan and writes under a pseudonym. He is a corporate attorney by day and by night. At dawn and dusk, he uses his wild imagination to create fantastical worlds.
ajwitt.com
Follow The Source on Facebook and Instagram
#TheSourceSeries
