Bacorium Legacy

  Chapter X

  A Message

  Morning came with an icy wind from the north. The moment his eyes were open, Luca felt the cold air cut right through the tent and blanket, chilling him to the bone. He yawned and stretched, feeling stiff after having slept on the ground. The only two sleeping bags had gone to the girls, and while he had been in the tent with Emila, he still had only the thin fabric of it between him and the hard earth.

  Emila was rising as well, he noticed. While Luca still felt weary and exhausted after yesterday's events, Emila rose with a bright smile. She seemed to be recovered completely from her mana exhaustion.

  Emila rose up and slid out of the sleeping roll, stretching and yawning as she did. She didn't seem to think much of the cold air. But then again, she was an ice-form magus. Luca, on the other hand, was right back in Arimos.

  "Good morning, Luca," she said cheerfully.

  He murmured something in reply and stumbled his way out of the tent. Outside, Brand sat at the edge of the cliff, stretching. It seemed like he'd had the last turn keeping watch.

  "Nobody ever woke me to take a turn keeping watch," Luca said to him.

  "That would be the princess' doing," Brand said. "She said you needed rest as much as Emila did."

  "Ah." He couldn't argue with that. He had needed it.

  Selphie and Jared were busy unfolding the other tent, while Ash was pacing around the edge of the plateau, looking over a map and shivering. Emila emerged from the tent and joined the two boys.

  "Is there anything to eat? I'm starving."

  Come to think of it, Luca's stomach felt tight as well.

  "Yeah, the princess saved some breakfast for you two."

  After thanking Brand, they went over to where Selphie was. She and Jared had just finished folding up the tent, and were talking. The princess smiled as they approached.

  "You look much better," Selphie said to Emila. "And you, too," she added for Luca's sake.

  "Thank you very much for everything you've done," Emila said. "Luca said you helped us get out of the caves. And lending me your tent to sleep in; well, I probably wouldn't have pulled through without your help."

  "I think everyone here helped each other," the princess replied.

  "Brand said you saved something for us to eat," Emila continued modestly. "I hate to impose, but I'm very hungry."

  "Sure, here." Selphie looked through her bag and produced a small plastic bag containing some strips of beef jerky. "It's nothing fantastic, just travel rations. When we get to town I'll be able to get you something more substantial."

  "Town?" Emila asked, as she bit down on the rough meat. "Which town?"

  "That's what I'm trying to figure out," Ash said, not looking up from his map. "Unless we figure out where we are, we could spend the whole day wandering in the wrong direction. I need some kind of landmark or something."

  "There's a river in the distance," Jared told him. "Does that help?"

  "Possibly, but I'd have to know which river it is. Would it be possible for us to go there first? If I get closer, I might be able to figure out where we are."

  "How far do you think this river is?" Selphie asked her guard.

  "It couldn't be more than two kilometres," he guessed.

  "In that case, absolutely."

  The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant, in spite of the frigid morning air and the rather dire situation. They had no idea where they were, what direction they needed to travel in, and if any Acarians were around. No words were uttered about the bloody events of yesterday, as though nobody wished to sacrifice the mood by bringing it up. But still, regardless of all this, everyone seemed to be in a fair mood.

  Except Luca, that is, because he really hated the cold.

  As if reading his mind, Emila then said, "It sure is cold out today. Maybe we're north of the temple?"

  "We couldn't be that far north," Brand said, who had suddenly joined them without a sound.

  Selphie and Jared went to pack up the other tent, while Emila and Luca sat down to finish their small breakfast. Brand joined them. Ash was still analysing the map, as if the answer he sought was hidden somewhere on it in tiny print.

  "There are quite a few towns in this area," Brand said to him, noticing his troubled expression and mistaking it for worry. "Even if Ash is unable to figure out where we are, I'm sure we'll be able to find civilisation in time. We've got enough supplies to last a few days, at least."

  "That's not it. I'm just wondering how it got so damn cold." Luca pulled his fur coat closer around himself, feeling thankful he had held onto it since Arimos.

  "It's cold enough that if it rains I could make it snow!" Emila suggested enthusiastically.

  "You'd be letting the Acarians know where we are," Luca muttered bitterly. "Might as well just march over to them and present our necks."

  Emila frowned, but determined not to let her good mood falter, she turned to Brand. "I've been meaning to ask you, Brand. Your skin is a shade darker than ours. Are you from the south?"

  He nodded. "Yup. Guess where."

  "Mainyu?" Emila guessed. "Or perhaps Samgo?"

  "Sendora."

  Emila and Luca exchanged glances, their eyes going wide in surprise. "You jest," Emila said.

  "Nope. I was born and raised in the city of Sendor."

  Emila got really excited, took a big bite of her jerky, and leaned in closer to Brand. "That's incredible. I've never known anyone from Sendora. You must have known many Sendorai."

  "Many," Brand said. "In fact, I knew more Sendorai than humans growing up. I only had one human friend, but there were about three Sendorai kids we would hang out with."

  "That is so cool. What are they like?"

  "The same as you or me, in most ways," Brand said, before laughing. "You could say it is cliche of me to say this, but we're really all the same inside."

  "Did the lizardmen hate you because you were different?" Luca asked in a quiet voice. "The same way northerners hate them?"

  Brand stared at him for a moment, frowning. "Some did, of course. There are always some who will hate. Certain people need to hate something. If it wasn't someone who looked different, it would be someone else, like a mundane."

  Now, Emila frowned. "Do you really believe that? You don't have any more hope for the human race?"

  Brand didn't seem to have an answer for that. Instead, it was Luca who spoke. "Look at what the human race has accomplished so far. Look at what it accomplished yesterday."

  As she stood up, Emila said, "You're never satisfied until you ruin something good, aren't you?"

  "We're done!" Selphie called out. She and Jared were joining them, carrying two backpacks. "Let us go look at Ash's river, shall we?"

  Luca looked over to Emila, to see if she had more to say, but she was smiling, as though she had already forgotten.

 

  They made their way through the woods, and they quickly located the river Jared had pointed out. Ash went over to the edge of the water, checking his map, and looking around at the hills and trees.

  "Princess, you're bleeding," Emila said, pointing to Selphie's hand.

  Selphie held up her hand, and sure enough there was a small cut. "Oh. I must have cut myself on a branch earlier."

  "Here, allow me." Emila took Selphie's hand in her own. She glowed faintly with mana, and when she took her hand away, Selphie's cut was gone. "You took care of me earlier, so I'm in your debt."

  "It was nothing," Selphie said, her cheeks faintly red. "Really, there was nothing I could do. All I could do was give you somewhere to sleep."

  "Still, that probably saved us," Emila said, indicating Luca as well.

  "Ah, that reminds me," Selphie said, addressing everyone now. "When we get to town, none of you are to address me as 'princess'. There could be Acarian spies anywhere, and even if there aren't, we shouldn't draw that kind of attention to ourselves. Until we get back to T'Saw, I'm just Selphie, and that's what you should all call me. In fac
t, you should all start doing this now."

  "Why not just use an alias in town?" Brand asked.

  "It's not really necessary. Selphie's a fairly common name. More trouble could result in someone forgetting what they were supposed to call me. It's far easier and more natural-sounding if you just call me by my real name."

  "Is it really so difficult to remember a name?" Luca asked her.

  "You would be surprised," she said, with a touch of sadness. "My escorts have made such mistakes in the past. Those poor men..."

  "Princess..." Jared started to say.

  "This rule extends to you, Jared," Selphie chastised him. "I know it makes you uncomfortable, but this is for our safety."

  He frowned. "I understand... Selphie." He said it hesitantly, like it was a foul curse, and his eyes glanced over the others as though they would demonise him for it.

  "Ah-hah!" Ash shouted suddenly. A moment later, he returned to them, grinning. "I've got it. I know exactly where we are." He pointed to a spot on a map, next to a river.

  "We're actually southwest of the temple," Brand pointed out. Emila looked slightly disappointed.

  "There's a fairly prominent town quite close," Jared said. "We can easily make that in a day's travel."

  "Indeed," Selphie agreed, looking at the map over her guard's shoulder. "If the Acarians are going to go right back to Acaria, they will travel east from the temple. This is good, as it will put us out of their path."

  "But still, Pri-," Jared began to say, before catching himself. "I mean - Selphie... The attack on the temple was aimed at capturing you, was it not? It seems unlikely they will leave without completing that objective."

  "Yes, so we will be extra careful," Selphie said. She took a step away from the small huddle and clapped her hands. "Listen everyone. When we reach this town, don't trust anyone. Though we likely will not see any more Acarian soldiers, there could be people who have been promised rewards for turning us in. Be sparse with any details you must give, and if possible, do not even tell them your names."

  Everyone nodded.

  "And don't forget what I said just a moment ago. Do not call me princess under any circumstances, even if there is no one but us around. Understood?"

  The five of them muttered replies of varying enthusiasm.

  "Good," Selphie said with a bright smile. "Now there isn't a moment to lose. Let's get moving!"

  And with that, they started off, with Selphie leading the procession. With his navigation skills no longer needed, Ash rolled up his map and put it away, and sullenly went over to the back of the group, lingering behind.

  Luca glanced at his brother as they walked. Ash did not look up from the ground.

  "Odd," he muttered. "He was so excited just a moment ago..."

  Brand looked but said nothing.

 

  Now that they had their bearings, they made their way southwest towards where the road should be. After about an hour, they managed to make it out of the forest, and onto the road. According to Ash, it would take them half a day to get to said town.

  The morning gradually turned to noon, and the air grew a bit warmer, though the wind still remained cold. They made conversation amongst themselves as they walked, with the girls contributing the majority of it. Even Ash and Jared joined in from time to time, and as the day went on, it was easy to forget what they had escaped from.

  Still, Luca kept his eyes open for any sign of their enemies. He did not spot a single Acarian, nor any bandits or monsters, of which he was both relieved and disappointed. The familiar weight of Siora's sheath rested on his belt, and as he looked on the blade he swore he would not lose it again.

  As the afternoon drew closer, and they drew closer to town, the woods began to thin, and they started passing farms. As they had skipped lunch, and had an already small breakfast to begin with, the temptation to steal a few turnips or a carrot was hard to resist. But Selphie continued to promise them a large supper when they got to town, so they let the farmers be.

  While they were all used to travel, it was still an immense relief when the town finally appeared on the horizon. They arrived just as the sun was beginning to set.

  This town, whose name turned out to be Kasma, was sparsely populated and just a bit seedy. But it had all the essentials; an inn, a blacksmith, a general store, etc.

  "Here," Selphie said, handing Luca a small purse of coins. "Could you go and reserve our rooms? You two can get something to eat while you're there. I know you and Emila are really hungry, so please help yourself. Jared and I will go stock up on supplies, and there are letters that need sent. We will meet up with you once we are done."

  Luca nodded, and took the coins.

  "I'll go with you, if that's okay," Brand said to the princess. "I've got some shopping of my own I'd like to do."

  "That's fine with me," Selphie said. "We should be back in less than an hour."

  "Be careful," Emila said.

  "Well as long as there's no Acarians around, we should be okay," Brand said with a slightly nervous laugh. He, Selphie, and Jared then disappeared down the streets.

 

  Ash, Emila, and Luca went to the inn. They walked in, finding it mostly empty. There were only a few people there; a man and woman who were dining in private, a bearded man who drank at the counter and looked like he was about to pass out, and a man seated by himself at a dark table in the back, smoking from a pipe.

  They went over to the innkeeper. He was a portly man, which according to everything Luca had learnt from books meant he was trustworthy (skinny innkeepers were the ones you had to watch out for, especially if they had moustaches; every adventurer knew this).

  The inn turned out to be as empty as it looked, so Luca was able to get three adjacent rooms as a very reasonable price. Two men, Two men, and two women. He wasn't sure if that was how they would be divided up, though. Jared would certainly want to be near the princess, and he and Emila were used to sleeping in the same room. But he doubted Brand would want to share a room with Ash.

  Ah well, he figured. They would sort that out once the others were back.

  In any case, he ordered their food, and they found a table and broke their fast with vigour.

  With the exception of Ash, that is, who did not taken a bite.

  "What is it?" Luca asked him.

  After a long moment, Ash said, "Master Dori probably did not survive that, did he?"

  Luca and Emila exchanged a glance. "No, he almost certainly didn't," Luca said as gently as he could. "He was riding the dragon when it fell, right? If the fall didn't kill him, there were still Acarians everywhere. And he was old."

  After another long pause, Luca added, "In fact I doubt anyone who was still within the walls made it. Only the few that fled through that hole with Tranom. Everyone else..."

  Emila looked at Luca for a moment like she wanted to hit him. She said to Ash, in a soft voice, "I'm sorry, Ash. He was like a father to you, wasn't he?"

  Ash didn't answer that. He just stared into the untouched meal on his plate.

  "I know it's tough, losing your home, and the only people close to you," she continued. "Believe me, I know. If there's anything you want to talk about-"

  "That man in the corner," Ash said suddenly, without looking away from his plate. "He hasn't looked at a single thing in this room but us since we walked in."

  Emila's eyes widened in surprise, but she was smart enough not to look over at the guy. Instead she looked over at Luca.

  "Do you think he's an Acarian?" she said quietly.

  "He's not dressed the part," Ash replied. "A spy perhaps, but I can't imagine what could have given us away. None of us are wearing anything of Allma."

  Indeed, Ash was still dressed in the tattered rags that he had been wearing while imprisoned. Selphie had promised many times during the day's travel that she would get him fresh garb in town. As for Luca and Emila, they simply had on the same travel clothes as always. The only person in the whole group who wo
re Allma robes was Brand, and even those were beneath leather armour.

  "Of course, it's also possible he's just a drunk ogling Emila," Ash muttered.

  After a few moments had passed, Luca slowly looked over out of the corner of his eye. Whoever he was, he was dressed in a cloak, and he had the hood up. He had stopped smoking his pipe some time ago, and was now very clearly watching them with his arms crossed. He looked almost expectant.

  "He doesn't look drunk," Luca said. "I think he knows that we're aware of his staring. But he's not doing anything. He's just sitting there... I'll go talk to him."

  "Luca, are you insane?" Emila hissed.

  "We can't just ignore him," he said. "If he's just eyeing you up, I'll tell him to keep away from you. If he's an Acarian, or a spy, we'll need to know so we can get out of here."

  Emila reluctantly accepted this. "Alright, just be careful."

  Luca nodded, and rose. He strode towards the hooded man, keeping Siora sheathed and hidden under his coat. As he drew near, the man kept his eyes on him the entire time.

  "Is there something you want?" Luca asked him.

  "I was wondering if you were gonna come say hi to me," he said. His voice was immediately familiar.

  "Who are you?"

  He threw back the hood of his cloak, revealing his face.

  "You failed the test," Tranom said. "Were I an enemy, you could be in serious trouble right now."

 

  The three of them found themselves over at Tranom's table, finishing their meal with him and talking.

  "I managed to escape with as many students as I could," Tranom told them. "We fled through the woods, but the Acarians came after us. I stayed back and held them off, while the students escaped. I don't know where they went, but hopefully they were able to get to safety. I was slightly wounded after the fight, so I was unable to catch up with them. I managed to limp my way to this town, and I rested here for the remainder of the night, and most of the day. I had just gotten up, and finished eating my breakfast when I spotted you entering."

  "It's fantastic that you're okay," Emila said. "Brand will be happy, when he gets here."

  "Ah, Brand is with you," Tranom said, nodding. "That's very good." He leaned in closer, and asked them in a hushed voice, "And the princess? Is she with you as well?"

  Emila nodded.

  Tranom smiled, a relieved look on his face. "That's great. Things would be very bad if anything were to happen to her. Will she be here soon?"

  "She had some shopping to do," Emila said. "Her, Brand, and Jared will be here in about an hour. That's what she said."

  "Jared?"

  "Her last remaining escort," Luca reminded him. "The halberd guy?"

  "Ah, of course. I'd forgotten him."

  Ash was simply stirring at his food with his fork, as quiet as usual. Luca still hadn't seen him take a bite.

  "Were there any others that were with you?" Tranom asked.

  "Just the six of us," Luca said.

  "I see," Tranom muttered, looking despondent. "It's a shame we weren't able to save more. So many died in that attack. I should have ordered a retreat sooner. Those Acarians... we underestimated how powerful they are."

  "The temple has fallen," Luca agreed. "But it was Allma's scheming that brought its end. Had he been a more honourable man, this could have been avoided. But still, that bastard Zinoro will pay for the lives he has taken. I guarantee it."

  Tranom slowly nodded.

  "What happened back there?" Emila asked. "When the dragon was guarding the gate, the Acarians were not able to get through. How were they able to kill him?"

  Tranom frowned, and shook his head. "I don't know. Their leader, that Dreevius; he had some kind of orb that made the dragon fall out of the sky. After it was dead, there was nothing to stop them from entering the temple. They just had far superior numbers."

  He sounded very troubled, like he was having trouble finding the right words. Doubtlessly, he was even now reliving the carnage and bloodshed in his mind. He probably felt responsible for all the Allman students who had died.

  "This goes without saying, but tell no one about the princess," Tranom said to them. "Those Acarians are still out there. Watch what you say, and trust no one at all."

  "Are there any Acarians here in this town?" Luca asked.

  "There could be," Tranom said. "But the Acarians themselves are not what you should worry about. There are many spies for them; people who would sell you out in a second for a few pieces of gold. Anyone you see could be one, even the people here in this inn. Be extremely careful."

  Ash sat up suddenly, leaving his untouched plate behind. "I will go find Selphie and the others, and tell them we found you." He walked away without another word, before anyone could stop him. Tranom frowned at his hasty departure.

  Luca watched him go, thinking of the conversation earlier. His brother, much like Luca himself, did not seem to be the kind of person who was able to discuss the things that troubled him. Ash had looked profoundly uncomfortable through the whole conversation with Tranom.

  "So where are you going to go?" Tranom asked Luca and Emila.

  "Selphie needs to get back to T'Saw," Emila said. "She fears that if she does not hurry and tell King Zaow what happened, that war might break out between Torachi and Acaria, and Sono would be dragged into the conflict."

  "Ah, that is a real possibility," Tranom said. "Sono has long tried to avoid war, while Torachi never backs down from it. What Saeticia decides will determine whether the full Alliance is brought in, or if it remains an affair between Torachi and Acaria."

  Alliance matters were always decided on a two-out-of-three vote. If two of the countries sought war, then all three were required to be part of it. If only one of them wanted the war, then it simply became their problem alone. In this case, if Torachi wanted war with Acaria and Sono did not, then Saeticia would be the deciding vote.

  "The princess will be sending a letter to the king of Torachi," Luca told Tranom, "telling him about Allma's treachery, and urging him not to declare war on Acaria."

  "Her plan is to convince King Edmund that the Acarian attack on the temple was part of some scheme of Allma's, and not an act of war against his land?" Tranom muttered, scratching his chin and thinking. "While the temple itself was technically a neutral entity, the Acarians still needed to cross Torachian land to get to it, right? I doubt he will be swayed by such a thing."

  Emila rested on her hand for a moment, looking rather tired. "Let us hope that war is not the result of this."

  "If it is, then Zinoro will fall, just as his father did," Luca said. "He cannot win against the entire Alliance. His way is schemes and plotting, which is how the temple fell. In an open battlefield, his army would be crushed."

  Tranom said nothing, merely turning over the pipe in his hands.

  Luca heard a thump from across the room. The couple dining together had collapsed onto their table.

  "What the-?"

  "You are wrong, my friend," Tranom said in a low voice.

  "Wrong? What are-"

  "Zinoro will not lose. He is the chosen heir. It is prophesied that he will destroy Sono."

  Emila slid out of her chair and collapsed on the floor. She was unconscious.

  "Emila!" Luca pushed his chair back and sprang to his feet, only to feel the entire room spinning around him. He grabbed the table to keep himself from falling.

  He looked to Tranom as he stood up, strange symbols appearing on the man's skin. These symbols ran over him, running over every visible part of his flesh and leaving it changed wherever they passed.

  When they settled, his entire appearance had changed. He was now a different man, bald and grey-skinned, covered in tattoos.

  "I told you to trust no one."

  His smirking face was the last thing Luca saw before he hit the floor.

 

  Luca stirred back to the world of the waking slowly and in confusion, battling against the wall of sleep as though i
t were trying to keep him submerged forever. He did not immediately return to lucidity, and that frightened him, for that meant that something was indeed fighting to keep him asleep. In response, he fought harder, urging his sluggish and weak body back into awareness.

  His vision was hazy and unfocused as he opened his eyes. He could make out the vague shape of a pair of legs, but little else. When he tried to move, he found that he could not.

  He was bound by rope, at his hands and legs.

  In time, he fought away the lethargy and gained an awareness of his surroundings. Emila was bound, just as he was, and she was unconscious. They were in a large tent, and a two figures in Acarian armour stood by the entrance. While not even a patch of flesh could be seen through their armour, the helmets were faced square in his direction, so he had no doubt they were watching him.

  Bound both by his sluggish body, and the ropes around his wrists and ankles, it took him a while to sit up from the awkward position he had woken in. The Acarian guards watched him like a pair of statues.

  Once he was finally sitting, he was able to get a better view of the tent they were in. There was one other person there with them.

  Tranom. The real one.

  "Are you alright?" he asked. He looked ragged and exhausted, and was covered in dried blood.

  Luca nodded.

  "How did they get you?" Tranom asked.

  He thought back, his memory of the last few hours hazy. "Dreevius. He was at the inn, and he looked like you. They drugged us..."

  That portly innkeeper he had assumed trustworthy had been working for the Acarians the entire time. He had drugged all the food and drink there. The man at the counter had not been drunk after all; he had simply been there longer than anyone else.

  "A trap to catch any survivors," Tranom muttered, his voice sad. "I heard them talking about the princess. Was she with you?"

  "Yes. But we split up when we got to town. She was not at the inn. Hopefully she was able to get away."

  Tranom nodded in agreement.

  "He looked just like you," Luca said. "His hair, his skin tone... even his voice. The disguise was perfect."

  "He drank my blood," Tranom said. "He is a shapeseeker, a being able to take the form of someone whose blood he consumes. I'd thought they were all gone from the world."

  If that was the case, Dreevius could easily take the shape of Emila or himself. And the others could fall into the same exact trap...

  "Where is he now?"

  "Here," Tranom said. "For now, anyway. The army is on their way back to Acaria, or so he said. He's still here with a group of thirty or so men, trying to find the princess. I do not know exactly where 'here' is, but we're in the woods, somewhere out of sight."

  Luca looked over at the two guards, who watched them silently and without even a single movement. It was unnatural, how still they were. It was inhuman.

  "My apprentice, is he-?"

  Tranom's question was answered when the Acarian guards suddenly moved aside, to make way for the arrival of three of their peers. These three Acarians entered the tent, each pushing a bound prisoner to the ground.

  Brand, Selphie, and Jared.

  The three Acarian soldiers left the tent, and a moment later, their leader entered.

  "If I had known it would be this easy, I would have waited to send the army back," Dreevius said as he stepped inside. "Your companions here made it quite easy to find you."

  Selphie looked over to him, but said nothing. Brand and Jared had not moved from where they hit the ground. They seemed to be unconscious.

  Dreevius noticed Luca glaring at him, and his smile grew. "Ah. You're finally awake, my very interesting friend." He walked over and squatted down to look him right in the eyes. "I'm afraid I haven't gotten your name."

  Luca said nothing, but there was a faint spark of realisation in his eyes.

  "When I saw you walk into that inn, I considered myself a lucky man," Dreevius continued. "But when you said the princess was with you, well... I knew it was fate. After the attack was over, I had feared I would not get another chance to talk to you."

  Dreevius took out a long dagger, and began to twirl it around in his hands. "I killed you back there. I gave you an injury that no man could survive, and yet here you are. So how is this possible?"

  Luca kept his eyes fixed on Dreevius'. He did not allow himself, for even the briefest of moments, to glance at Emila.

  "Not even my king is immortal," he said. "He takes pride in the fact that he knows what the only thing in the world is that can kill him, but he never allows himself to forget that he is mortal. No human is deathless; vampires can survive mortal injuries, but they have other weaknesses that can easily end them. And you are no vampire. So how is it that you still breathe in spite of me killing you?"

  Still, Luca did not answer him.

  Dreevius smiled again, and shrugged. "Well, I knew you would not tell me so easily. I've wondered since then, if it was a fluke somehow, or if you could only escape death once. Let's try it and see."

  He then lunged forth, bringing his hand down upon Luca's breast, plunging the dagger he held into the very same spot as before. Luca cried out in pain, and at the same moment, Emila screamed and thrashed in her bonds, writhing from the same pain that Luca felt.

  Dreevius pulled the dagger out, blood dripping from it. He looked back and forth between Luca and Emila.

  "So... once again, you are not dead. And yet this girl cries out in pain as you do."

  He walked slowly over to where Emila was gasping. He placed the dagger beneath her throat.

  "This is quite interesting. So what will happen to you if I kill her...?"

  "My lord."

  Dreevius looked up. An Acarian soldier stood at the entrance, between the two guards. This man had his helmet off, which was the first time Luca had ever seen an Acarian do so.

  "Captain, you're interrupting me," Dreevius told him impatiently.

  "Forgive me, my lord, but I must insist that you do not kill her."

  Dreevius raised an eyebrow. "And why is that?"

  "King Zinoro will no doubt be interested in this boy who cannot be killed."

  "What does that have to do with her?"

  "They are clearly connected in some way. What if killing her would cause him to die as well, or remove his ability? It is safer not to take any chances with them."

  Dreevius frowned, and thought for a moment. "I am here to bring back the princess, which I have succeeded in doing. I was not sent to bring the king either of these two. Should these two never make it to Acarienthia, what will this change? Nothing. But I don't like to leave my business unfinished. I want to see what will happen when she dies." He placed his dagger back under Emila's throat.

  "Word of what happened at the temple will reach King Zinoro," the captain continued. "Rumours will spread about this boy who cannot die. What if the king wishes to learn of this power he has? What if he should want this immortality himself? Do you wish to be the one to tell him that you had them both as your captives, but chose to kill them instead of taking them to him?"

  Dreevius' frown was nearly a scowl now, but he seemed less sure.

  "You overstep your bounds, captain, but you make a good point." He reluctantly sheathed his dagger. "They live... for now, at least. Go wait for me outside."

  The captain nodded, and departed.

  The moment he was gone, Dreevius' dagger was drawn again.

  "My scheming captain may have saved you for now, but do not take comfort in that," he said. He nicked Emila under her chin, and a bead of red blood ran down her neck. Luca felt a stinging pain in the same spot.

  Dreevius leaned forward and ran his tongue over the spot, licking up her blood. Tears ran down Emila's cheek, whether from the pain or what he was doing to her, Luca could not know.

  "Tonight, I will try out your form." He rose, and sheathed his dagger. "I shall see what other secrets you're keeping."

  He started to leave, but then stop
ped. He smiled once again. "You kids just get more and more interesting."

  And then he was gone.

  Selphie was watching them, aghast. "Are you alright...?!"

  Luca ignored her, and squirmed over to where Emila lay. "Emila...?"

  She blinked, forcing herself not to shed any more tears. Her mouth was a tight line. She pushed herself up to a sitting position. "I-I'm okay. He didn't hurt me... I've just never woke to something like that before."

  "I'll make him pay for that, I swear. As soon as I find a way out of here..."

  "Luca, please. Just forget about it. I'm more worried about you. He stabbed you again..."

  "It's okay," he reassured her. "It doesn't even hurt this time." But that was a lie, and they both knew it; because they could both feel the same sharp, throbbing pain.

  "You're really alright..." Selphie muttered. "That's incredible. Is this the second time your connection has kept you alive like this?"

  "The third, actually."

  Selphie just stared at the wound in his chest, in awe.

  "I have a thousand questions I'd like to ask you about that," Tranom said. "But for now, we should think about a way to escape."

  The two guards continued to watch them, machine-like. Luca frowned. "Not while those guys are there, we aren't."

  He looked back to Selphie. "Do you know where my brother is?"

  She shook her head.

 

  "Everything is in order," the captain said to Dreevius. "We'll be ready to leave for Acaria in the morning."

  "Good," said Dreevius. He glanced inside his tent. "I'll write a letter informing the king about our success here."

  The captain frowned. "I take it you will not informing him about that boy who cannot die?"

  "We'll surprise him," Dreevius suggested.

  The captain looked like he had more to say, but he wisely kept silent.

  Dreevius began to pace at the entrance of his tent. He asked the captain, "Have those four men we sent back to the village returned?"

  "They have, my lord. They were not able to find the other Allman, but they told me that someone matching his description hastily bought a number of items in the market, including weapons and travel supplies. It is likely that he fled."

  Dreevius smirked. "Ah. I believe I made some mistake and gave away my disguise, but rather than save his friends or warn the princess, he decided to save his own skin. The right choice, of course, but I expected these folks to have more honour."

  He stopped pacing for a bit, and turned to face the captain. "It matters not. We have the princess, the unkillable boy, his woman, and even three others. Let the coward go."

  The captain nodded. "As you wish, my lord."

  "This mission was a complete success, in spite of the complications. Allma the third is dead, the dragon is dead, and the temple is ruins. We have the princess. You have served me well, captain. I shall have good things to say to the king about you."

  "Thank you, my lord."

  "You are dismissed."

  The captain nodded, and strode away. Dreevius watched him go, while wearing his usual grin. The captains were the only Acarian soldiers who were able to speak, the only ones who were any more than mere drones. Why King Zinoro even bothered to send them was beyond him. All that was needed were the soldiers, and someone to give them orders, and Dreevius himself was already good enough at that.

  Dreevius' smile turned to a frown.

  The captains were usually smart enough to keep quiet in the presence of an acolyte. But this one, he said things Dreevius did not like. He did not know his place, and Dreevius would have to put him in it. He had no intention of telling Zinoro about the boy who would not die. It was egg on his face; a moment of humiliation in what should have been his moment of glory.

  He'd had Allma backed into a corner, and the man had assumed Dreevius' threat was a mere bluff. He had shown him it was not, then drove him back into his temple to hide behind his dragon. It had all played out exactly the way he'd planned...

  But then that boy had the audacity to get back up.

  So he would pay for that. It would be a few days before his message got to Zinoro; in the meantime, he would amuse himself with this boy. That brat would regret his inability to die, Dreevius swore.

  And the captain...

  For now, Dreevius needed him. If he returned without him, it would look bad on his part. But once they were back in Acarienthia... he would no longer be needed. There were others who could take his place.

  Nobody would take him for a fool again. For years he'd hid from the world, using his abilities as a shapeseeker to blend in. But the forms he took only lasted an hour at a time, and he would always be found out and hunted wherever he went. He had narrowly avoided death too many times to count.

  When he had finally grew tired of hiding amongst lepers and mundanes, he'd fled to Acaria, the haven of outlaws, as it was called back then. There, Zinoro himself had personally selected him to be his acolyte, as his ability to change forms was very useful to him.

  The thing that had made him an unwelcome freak had finally begun to earn him some respect. And there was no way in hell anyone - not some boy and certainly not his own captain - was ever going to get away with making a fool of him again.

  Dreevius was certain of this, yet he could not shake the feeling that he was forgetting something very important...

  Shaking his head, Dreevius disappeared within his tent to write that letter.

 

  Selphie kicked Brand and Jared until they woke up, and then they all exchanged stories. The others had been doing their shopping back in Kasma, when ten Acarian soldiers had appeared and attacked them in the street. Jared and Brand had fought, telling Selphie to flee, but things had happened too quickly for her to either help them or get away. The two boys were knocked out, and Selphie was forced to surrender or forfeit their lives. Any witnesses to all this were either killed or paid to keep silent.

  They had not seen Ash before or after this happened. Nobody had.

  Luca thought about this, and he remembered how quickly Ash had left the inn. He prayed that his brother had not realised that the Tranom at the inn was an impostor, and abandoned them. He thought about his first meeting with him in the caves, and how despite his cold words, Ash had saved him when he fell in the lake. Luca did not know him well enough, but it did not seem like him to forsake them.

  Especially not after they had saved him from Allma.

  No, his hopes were that he had come upon the fight and lingered back, realising he could not help Selphie yet. Dreevius would have taken Emila and himself from the inn long before Ash returned, if he came to tell them.

  Perhaps he was planning to come and help them.

  But the cynic in him shot down such hopes. What chance could Ash alone have? Dreevius' army may be marching back to Acaria, but he still had thirty men with him. Their only chance was to somehow escape during the night, but even then it would be difficult for a party of six to move quietly.

  Their weapons had been taken from them, which only made escaping more difficult. Luca could not leave without Siora; he would have to stay until he found it. Alone, if need be. He had lost his father's sword once already, and he would not do so again.

  Using magick to escape was without question, because the tent they were in was marked with a mana-blocking circle, as anything meant to hold someone in Bacoria would be.

  And the men watching them - it wouldn't be too wild of a guess to say that they could stay there twenty-four hours and continue to watch them. Luca wondered if they even blinked beneath those helms. If even a single one of them began to break free of their binds, those guards would thwart that attempt in a second.

  Overall, things didn't look very good.

  "We cannot give up, though," Selphie insisted. "There has to be a way out."

  Emila was strangely quiet. There were no optimistic words of reassurance from her, no smiles and no hope. She looked defeated. Perhaps it
was the threat of Dreevius' knife from earlier, or the lecherous way he had touched her, but Luca thought it was more likely the hopelessness of the situation finally crushing her.

  It was heartbreaking to see.

  "Zinoro..." Emila said very quietly. "He's going to come here, isn't he? Because they've captured the princess, and Zinoro always does these things himself. He's going to come here, and see us..."

  "I will kill him," Luca swore. "No matter what they do to me, no matter how bad things may seem. I swore I will avenge my father, and I always keep my word. Even if they cut off my arms and legs to stop me, I will still squirm my way over to him and bite him until he bleeds to death."

  "You don't understand, Luca!" Emila shouted. "It's not that simple. We're caught; there's nothing any of us can do. And even if we were not, and we had our weapons, it wouldn't mean anything against Zinoro. He's a monster. He's inhuman. And he has a Rixeor Fragment. His blade would cut right through yours like a knife through butter."

  Luca bit his lip, refusing to let the subtext of that last line get to him.

  "There's something very important we haven't thought about," Brand said, nudging a little closer to them. "If they wanted to start a war with Sono, why not just kill Selphie? That would have been easier than going through all this effort to capture us. They haven't killed any of us, so they must have some reason to need us alive."

  "Dreevius was going to kill Emila," Luca said.

  Brand frowned. "But that other guy talked him out of it. Perhaps Dreevius is just a fool who doesn't know what he's doing."

  "My apprentice is right," Tranom said. "Dreevius is a fool; a man who should never have had any power. But Zinoro is not a fool. The attack against the temple was expertly planned. Hundreds died yesterday, and millions more will follow if Zinoro has his way. Whatever it is he needs the princess for, we cannot allow her to fall into his hands. Even if it kills the rest of us, she at least must escape."

  They all grew quiet, realising the gravity of his words.

  The two guards continued to watch them, not reacting to anything they said. Were they even comprehending their words? Human captors would have beaten them to silence at this point.

  "We aren't going to get far while those two clowns are standing there," Luca said.

  And then, as though he had made a wish, something truly unexpected happened. Two figures, not dressed in Acarian armour, stepped in through the opening of the tent and each grabbed an Acarian from behind. Daggers were drawn, and the throat of each guard was slit.

  The bodies slumped to the ground, and vanished, leaving only their armour.

  One of the assassins Luca immediately recognised as his brother. The other was a blond-haired girl who looked strangely familiar, but he couldn't quite remember...

  Then it clicked. Ah, of course. How could he have forgotten? The glasses weren't there, because she had lost them in the battle. Luca had seen them on the ground. But she at least was alive, and seeing that made Luca's heart leap.

  "We must make haste," Wiosna said, coming towards them with her dagger. "It won't take them long to miss the guards outside. We have to get you all untied before I give the signal."

  Signal?

  "Ash, the weapons," she said, already having started to cut the ropes binding Emila, who was closest to the entrance. Ash, who Luca just now noticed was carrying a rolled up cloth, tossed the bundle to the ground. Wrapped up were their weapons - Siora, Brand's scimitar, Emila's bow, Selphie's swords, Jared's halberd, and a sword that must have belonged to Tranom.

  Ash went over and began to cut Luca's binds.

  "You figured out who he was, back at the inn," he said to his brother.

  "I did," was his short reply.

  "You didn't tell us."

  "He was sitting right beside you. I'd have gotten you both killed."

  Ash finished cutting through the ropes around his feet, and he moved on to Brand. There would be plenty of time to discuss this later, Luca figured. He went to the pile of weapons and picked up Siora.

  "We'll have to move quickly if we're going to escape," he said.

  "We're not escaping," Wiosna said, now freeing Tranom.

  "What do you mean?" Selphie asked, as she placed her swords back in their sheathes.

  "That's everyone," Ash said, interrupting her.

  "Then, I'll give the signal." Wiosna closed her eyes, and glowed with mana for a few seconds. The energy faded, and she opened her eyes. "They're on their way."

  "You came back," Tranom said to her. "Even though I told you not to."

  "Allmans have more honour than that," she said with a proud smile. She turned to Brand. "Could you please start a fire? Let's let them know we're here."

  Brand raised an eyebrow. From outside, a dying scream was heard. His confused expression changed to a smile as realisation dawned. "Oh, I see. Sure." He summoned his mana and threw a fireball at the wall of the tent. It was instantly ablaze.

  "Let's go!" Wiosna shouted. "We've got Acarian blood to spill!"

  The eight of them ran out of the tent into the darkness. Outside, a small crowd of people wearing white robes beneath armour were in battle with the black-armoured Acarians. The numbers were with the Allmans this time, outnumbering the Acarians by nearly double, and they had the element of surprise. Several Acarians were being dragged out of tents, where eager Allmans waited with bloodied steel.

  Apparently they did need to sleep, Luca noted.

  Wiosna gave a battle cry unbecoming of the bookworm she had once appeared to be, and charged out into the carnage, swinging her sword with a vengeful fury.

  Brand grinned, and lifted his heavy scimitar. "Master, let's not let this opportunity pass us by. This time, there aren't enough Acarians to go around."

  A smile appeared on the lips of the usually grim man. "Indeed." The two charged out and joined in the fight.

  Jared, holding his halberd over his shoulder, turned to Selphie. "They don't need our help. Let's just stay back, so I can focus on keeping you safe."

  Selphie nodded. Emila had not taken out her bow, but she merely lingered behind, watching the battle with an uncertain expression.

  "Emila," Luca said to her, "just stay with them for now."

  "Where are you going?" She asked him.

  He looked over to the tent farthest from where they were, the largest one in the camp, where a figure with pale skin had just emerged.

  "I have a promise I need to keep."

 

  Dreevius watched with horror as his men were slaughtered. Several of the tents were on fire, and there were only a few of his thirty men remaining.

  At his feet, the captain crawled feebly towards him, blood dripping from his lips.

  "My - lord - don't - the girl is..." he choked on his words, blood dripping from his mouth.

  A girl stepped up and stood over the captain. She was a small cute thing, or she would have been, were it not for the blood covering her face, and the terrifying grin she wore. She placed the tip of her sword at the back of the captain's neck, and drove it in slowly, until the point of the blade emerged from beneath his chin. The captain gave one last pitiful cough of blood, and disappeared.

  "Look at how stupid his dying face was," the girl laughed.

  Dreevius was frozen, not in fear, but in disbelief. He simply could not comprehend what was happening in front of him.

  "H-how...?"

  "Your mistake was underestimating the Allma Temple, Acarian," the girl spat at him. "Did you really think that we were cowards, or that we would abandon our companions and flee? You're a special kind of fool." She raised her blade, pointing the blood-cover tip right at his face. "I'll give you the chance to surrender. Please say no. I would be overjoyed to cut open a shapeseeker and see what's inside."

  He backed away slowly, shaking his head. And then, rage flashed across his features.

  "NOOO!!!" he shrieked. He blasted at the girl with lightning magick, and then turned and fled into the woods.
r />   Wiosna, after easily blocking the attack, shook her head.

  "So the fool chooses death."

  After looking back at the camp to ensure that things were okay - which they were - Wiosna sheathed her sword and pursued Dreevius into the woods.

 

  Knowing that Dreevius' only choice would be to flee, Luca passed by the battle and his tent and waited in a deeper part of the woods.

  He stopped. Someone was following him.

  He turned around, dead leaves crackling beneath his feet. Though his visibility was limited under the veil of darkness, he could easily see the white dress that Emila always wore.

  "He's gotten away," she said to him. "C'mon, let's go back."

  Luca shook his head. "I told you stay with Selphie and Jared. Even now, you still won't listen to me? It's too dangerous out here. There could still be Acarians about."

  "I was just worried about you," she said. "You shouldn't have gone after that guy alone."

  "I can handle myself," Luca told her. "I've already fought this guy a few times. I know his tricks. But I have to kill him myself. So just go on back to the camp and wait with the others. I'll be fine, no matter what happens. You have nothing to worry about."

  "You know I won't just leave you," she insisted. "I guess I'll just have to wait here with you until he shows up." She crossed her arms, indicating that she wasn't budging.

  Luca chuckled, and took a step towards her.

  "What's my name?"

  She froze.

  Luca sprang forth like an uncoiled spring, drawing his sword and bringing it down. Unable to draw his own blade in time, all Dreevius could do was dodge to the side. However, the footing on the leaf-covered hill betrayed him, and he slipped and tumbled down. He rolled all the way down the hill, landing in the muddy bank of a river.

  He no longer looked like Emila, having returned to his grey-skinned, tattooed appearance. The white dress was also gone, replaced by the black Acarian armour.

  "You can even imitate clothing," Luca said as he casually followed him down the hill. "Impressive. Tranom told me there weren't many of your kind left in this world. It's almost a shame I have to kill you."

  Dreevius stumbled around in the mud until he was back on his feet. His sword appeared in his hands.

  "Shut up!" he shouted. "It is you who will die tonight! I wasn't kidding when I said you shouldn't have come after me alone!"

  Luca ignored what he said, and continued. "But don't worry. You will not completely vanish from the world."

  Dreevius charged, bringing his sword down. Luca easily parried the blow and countered. He jumped back to avoid it, and stumbled back into the mud.

  Luca shook his head.

 

  Wiosna quickly located Dreevius, who had ran to a small valley in the woods. She saw him, with his sword drawn, thrashing around in the mud.

  He wasn't alone.

  For a moment, Wiosna considered running down to help Luca, but then she saw he was unwounded, standing confidently over his opponent, who was clearly flustered and demonstrating a poor imitation of swordplay. There was something quite familiar about the situation.

  She smiled.

  "Hmm - perhaps I'll just let things play out and see what happens."

  She sat down behind a large rock, obscured from view, and watched the rest of the show.

 

  Dreevius swung his blade once again, and as with the previous times, it was easily knocked away by the boy in front of him.

  The rage in him was building.

  "Dammit, stop laughing!" he screamed. "I am Dreevius, acolyte of Zinoro, king of Acaria! I WILL NOT BE MOCKED!"

  His opponent, still smiling, stepped back a few metres. "In that case, climb on out of the mud, acolyte, and show me why you should be taken seriously."

  Dreevius was so angry he was shaking. He climbed up onto solid ground and raised his free hand.

  "Fry, you punk!"

  Electricity sprang from Dreevius' fingertips. It never touched the boy. He countered by creating a shield of mana around himself. The lightning struck the shield, wrapping around it, crackling and even burning the ground. But it did not touch the boy.

  It continued for some time, but once he realised he was wasting his mana, Dreevius ceased the magick.

  "Is that all?" the boy asked. "You shouldn't have announced your attack like that. It gave me plenty of time to shield myself."

  The boy then raised his free hand, and mana surged. Dreevius went to summon his own shield, but he wasn't fast enough. A few dozen needles of white mana were thrown at him like arrows, striking him anywhere he wasn't wearing armour. They did not hurt greatly, but the flesh they struck immediately seized up and would not move. Not numb, just paralysed. This included his arms and legs, for the needles had hit him where the armour plates met.

  His rigid body collapsed into the leaves, face down.

  "I did not tell you I was about to attack. See the difference in outcome?"

  "Shut your mouth! I will not be told how to fight by someone half my age!"

  The boy approached him, stuck his sword in the ground, and turned him over. Unable to move, Dreevius could not stop him. His own sword had fallen beside him, but even if he were able to reach out and take it, it would mean nothing. Seeing his eyes on it, the boy kicked it beyond his reach.

  Dreevius fought his paralysis with all his might. He began to regain some movement. The needles in him started to dissolve back into mana.

  "You're a one-trick act, Dreevius, and I've already seen the trick," the boy said, drawing close to him. "Your combat abilities are feeble even at your peak. Without dozens of men to command, you're no tougher than a common bandit."

  "Shut up!" Dreevius shouted, his hand finally breaking free of the paralysis. He reached and grabbed the boy's throat with all his might.

  The boy didn't even react. With an emotionless face, he took Dreevius' hand in his own and removed it from his windpipe. He then held the hand in place, and took Dreevius' index finger in his other hand.

  With a snapping sound, the boy broke the finger clean off.

  Dreevius screamed. He tried to twist around, to get away from beneath this kid, but he could not move. His body was still stiff and unyielding.

  The boy took the bleeding finger and placed it in a pocket in his shirt. He buttoned it closed. "Even your fingers have those tattoos on them. I'm sure when he gets it, there will be no mistaking who it came from."

  Even through the haze of pain clouding his mind, Dreevius could still understand his words. "What are you g-going to do...?"

  "I am going to send your king a letter. This finger I took from you will go with it, so he knows the message is sincere."

  "Wh-what message?"

  The boy smiled. "I'm so glad you asked. You see, when he gets this letter, he will know just how completely you failed him. Earlier, when you were in the form of my companion, I asked what my name was. You did not know the answer. You really should have. My name is Luca, son of Lodin, and I am going to kill your king."

  Dreevius' heart stopped.

  He really had made a mistake. The biggest mistake he could have possibly made. This boy likely didn't even realise how completely Dreevius had indeed failed his king.

 

  The five acolytes were gathered in full for the first time. In a half-circle, on one side of the table, they stood. Counter-clockwise: Dreevius, Trunda, Gordon, Verra, and Serpos.

  And on the other side of the table was their king, Zinoro.

  "I have gathered you here to tell you of a great revelation," Zinoro said to them. "This is the first time you have all been gathered before me. Fitting, in that what I have to tell you is something great. The seer in the dungeons has told me the conditions of my death. It is an Absolute Truth. There are only two in this world who may end my life. The first is one of my own blood. My family is wiped out, save for my mother. As we two are the only ones of my blood still in this world, this first condition
is of no concern. The other is of the blood of the man who killed my father. But only his firstborn child. This means that there are only two alive who can kill me in any possible future."

  "The son of Lodin?" Serpos asked. "That would be the one he took with him when he fled into the wilderness." A tall and powerful man, Serpos was the most cold and ruthless person Dreevius had ever met. Zinoro had chosen him for his skill in combat, and his military experience, of which he refused to speak of.

  "Indeed," Zinoro answered. "It is good that Lodin did not die in our first encounter. I would have spared the child back then. Now I know it would have been a mistake."

  "Lodin's other son is no threat, then?" Verra asked. The only woman among the acolytes, Verra was a healer who had turned against the craft. Healing magick could be inverted and used as a tool for killing, but it required the same precision as its proper use, so it was unwieldy in battle. Verra used inverted healing as a deadly technique of assassination.

  "The other son is in Allma Temple, if I remember correctly," Gordon said. He was the oldest of their number, a fighter who had risen to their ranks through sheer ability, without the unique skills the others had. Gordon had known Zinoro longer than any of others, and it was no secret among them that he was easily the weakest and most spineless person at the table.

  "Yes, being trained by the man who trained his father," Zinoro said. "Or so we have heard. But as I said, it is Lodin and his first son we must concern ourselves with. We cannot go forth with the plan until Lodin is dead, and this now includes his son. But finding them has been a challenge. Lodin received protection from an old friend before he left, and it still hides him from me to this day."

  "Send us, my king," Trunda offered. "We will find them and put an end to their lives." Where Serpos was a powerful and deadly warrior, Trunda was simply a brute. The man was massive, a living giant. Dreevius had seen him crush stone with his bare hands.

  "No," Zinoro said. "It must be my hand that ends Lodin's life, regardless of what threat his son may be to me. I swore an oath to end the life of the man who killed my father, and I will see it honoured. When I am through with him, I will kill the boy as well. It must be me who does this, or my victories will mean nothing. Until the son of Lodin is dead, I will not take my army to T'Saw."

  "My king," Verra said, "are you certain this is wise?"

  "I will destroy Sono when the time is right, and not a moment before," Zinoro answered her. "Until then, finding Lodin is the highest priority. Dispatch men to every corner of the known world. Have them report back if they find where Lodin is living. You, my acolytes, have other tasks to carry out. Preparations that must be made..."

 

  He couldn't believe it. All this time...

  He had forgotten his silent vow to kill the son of Lodin for his king. Other matters had come up in the years since then, and he had let what should have been his greatest achievement slip right through his fingers.

  But he had killed the boy. Twice, in fact. He just would not die. Some magick was keeping the spiritual realm from retaking him.

  That girl... she must be the answer after all. She had felt the same pain as the boy when he had stabbed him. If he had just ignored his captain, and killed her then and there, while he had the chance, the son of Lodin would likely be dead. The Allman survivors would still have come and annihilated them, but at least Zinoro would be safe. Perhaps Dreevius would even have been able to escape back to Acaria to tell him.

  But instead, he had let that chance go, all because he had forgotten to remember what hair colour the boy was supposed to have. He should have known the moment he saw that white hair!

  And now, the son of Lodin was standing over him, invulnerable to death, and desiring his king's blood.

  And he could have prevented it all.

  For the first time, Dreevius admitted to himself that he was, indeed, a fool.

 

  Luca slowly drove his sword into Dreevius' stomach, and the Acarian cried out in pain.

  "It is not the oath I made to kill Zinoro that I am keeping here, though," he told him. "I made an oath to myself that anyone who threatened to hurt Emila would die. And not only did you threaten to kill her, but you spilt her blood, molested her person, and made her feel the pain of being stabbed. But the worst of it is that you dared to take her form and try to pass as her. That is an insult I could never forgive, much less spare you for. So instead of a quick death, or even an honourable death in combat, I am going to kill you slowly."

  Luca drove the sword in a little bit deeper, and Dreevius let out a cacophonous shriek of agony. Then, he pulled the sword out, letting loose a free flow of blood.

  "You aren't even worthy of what I am giving you," Luca spat at him. He wasn't even sure if the man was still listening anymore, as his eyes were glazed over in pain. But it all needed to be said. "You killed Rael and Dori and the dragon. Countless good Allmans died on your orders. You even killed Allma himself... he was scum as well, but even he had some modicum of honour. You are less than the lowest of the low. The things that slither about in the mud are royalty next to you. And that's exactly where you deserve to die; in the mud."

  Luca grabbed Dreevius' foot and dragged him through the thick leaves, back to the river. His blood left a trail behind him. Once there, he threw him back into the mud. Dreevius no longer even had the strength to struggle.

  "I have truly forsaken the Way of Uro," Luca said, now talking to himself. "No warrior-philosopher would throw a dying man into the mud. I have abandoned the teachings I used to hold higher than life itself. But some people deserve nothing, not even a decent death."

  In the filth, Dreevius twitched feebly.

  As Luca stared down at his work, he couldn't help but wonder if he was becoming a monster. But then he remembered everything Dreevius had done, and he told himself he deserved it.

  Perhaps one had to become a monster to slay one.

  Luca got on his knees and drove his sword through Dreevius' chest. The Acarian tried to scream again, but all that came out was a choked cry. Blood ran from his lips, flowing down his chin in a crimson waterfall. He had another spasm, and he coughed blood up, which hit his face.

  Then he fell back into the mud, and disappeared into mana.

  Without another word, or thought, Luca rose.

  The smoke-filled orb remained within its pouch, hidden within Dreevius' blood-covered armour. It sank into the mud, forgotten.

 

  A bright smile graced Wiosna's lips.

  Luca, the son of the legendary hero Lodin. A formidable swordsman with hair as white as snow. A handsome face with blue eyes. The one who had fought against the Acarians at the temple, and had not died when his heart was pierced.

  And he was of her kind. An artist who painted in the most deepest red.

  "He is perfect," she said. "Perfect in every way. A beautiful angel of death. I must have him."

  She had made up her mind. Luca would be hers, in mind, body, and soul. The very thought of having him made her warm. It had been so long since she had been so happy. Not since...

  Well, not since her parents had died.

  "But not yet," she said. "He can't see me here. He mustn't know I saw him. Not yet."

  Wiosna rose from behind her rock and ran back to the camp before Luca saw she was there.