Bacorium Legacy

  Chapter XXV

  The Will to Power

  For a countless distance, a lone figure made her way quickly through the desolate nothingness that was Acaria. Two figures followed her, as they had for two days, keeping a careful distance to avoid detection. They hid behind whatever they could find; hills, boulders, and the even the occasional dried tree or abandoned farmhouse. The progress they made was agonisingly slow and difficult, but it was necessary.

  For the woman they were pursuing was not Emila.

  "By some miracle of the fates, I think we've managed to avoid being seen," Gordon said to Luca in a quiet voice. There was no need to speak so quietly; there was no way their target could hear them from over half a kilometre away. They were hiding behind a boulder while Verra was stopped to rest for a moment.

  Luca frowned, glancing back the way they had come. A week and a half after setting out from the camp, they had made a lot of distance into Acaria. Without the tether to magickally tell him where she was, tracking Emila had been difficult. For the first few days, they had managed to keep a trail going by following the occasional footprint or by simply making logical decisions on which path she had likely taken. But the farther into Acaria they went, the harder that had become. The winds grew strong, and the dirt at their feet looser; footprints became rarer and rarer each day before disappearing altogether. Without clues they were forced to make every decision off a guess, and after a while Luca was certain they were going the wrong way.

  The trail went cold, and for a few days they had wandered at random, with Luca growing increasingly worried with each passing hour. And then, by pure chance, they had found a set of footprints. His hope renewed, Luca had followed the new trail with vigour. And eventually they led him to a hill overlooking a valley, where Luca had spotted a woman with black hair travelling. Overjoyed, he had almost run down the hill to her, and shouted Emila's name, when Gordon had stopped him, and pointed out the woman they had found was wearing black, not white.

  And then, for the next two days, they followed Verra.

  "Why can't we just attack her and be done with it?" Luca has asked at one point in his impatience.

  "She killed Marcus, if my theory is correct," Gordon had told him. "If that's true, then she must have his Rixeor Fragment, which she would be taking to Zinoro. Anyone with one of those is a force to be reckoned with. But even without one, she's still dangerous. A single touch is all she needs... and you're done."

  Luca thought about that. Verra used inverted healing magick to afflict her enemies with deadly, irreversible conditions. He had seen the effects of it on Marcus himself. According to Gordon, she needed very little time to prepare this. Truly a dangerous person to fight up close; she had little fighting ability, but with such deadly magick, she didn't need it.

  He began to feel an ache forming in his forehead. A buzzing sound filled his ears, like the sound a crowd makes when many voiced speak in unison. He could almost make out words through the haze, but they were too quiet and incoherent.

  "What is it?" Gordon had asked him.

  "Nothing," Luca muttered irritably. He then rubbed his temple, the headache already vanishing. "So what do we do about her?"

  "We need the sword... and we absolutely cannot let it get in Zinoro's hands. We have to follow her, until we have an opportunity to get close without her knowing. We need to attack her, and finish things before she even knows we're there."

  It bothered Luca immensely to abandon searching for Emila to trail this woman; but he couldn't argue Gordon's points. Especially after they were able to get a little closer and see that it definitely was Verra, and she did have a sword strapped across her back that looked like Altair. So for the next two days, they followed after Verra at a safe distance, as she hastily made her way across the Grey Wasteland.

  She looked tired. She hadn't moved for a few minutes. She sat beneath the dried husk of a tree, beside what had once been a pool of water. Every few minutes, she would look up and glance around the immediate area. Really, with how paranoid she was being, it really was a miracle she hadn't seen them yet.

  "Why is she being so cautious?" Luca muttered. Verra was moving as carefully as they were, but with a greater sense of urgency. This was Acaria, where Zinoro ruled over an army of the dead. Verra was one of Zinoro's acolytes - his five closest followers - and returning after slaying an enemy king and obtaining a second legendary sword for him. So why was she being so careful?

  "At first I thought she was going to Acarienthia, but I'm having my doubts now," Gordon replied, brushing his grey hair out his eyes. "Unless she's taking quite a detour..."

  An idea came to Luca. "Perhaps she intends to keep the sword for herself."

  "She would be a fool to do so," Gordon muttered. "Zinoro would hunt her to the edges of Bacoria for such a betrayal. As I've said before, he does not suffer traitors to live. And if she was going to do that, why flee back into Acaria? That can't be it, it just doesn't add up..."

  Luca looked to Gordon, suddenly feeling a bit guilty. "You're a traitor. If you're found with me..."

  "I'll be killed," he said in a level tone. "Yes, I know. I would not have brought you here if I was not ready to face the consequences of my actions. Even despite the fact that your chances of slaying Zinoro are so low..."

  "Then why do it?"

  "Because I want to believe he can be stopped," Gordon said with a faint smile. "He needs to be stopped, and if one believes the words of a mad blind man, then you're the only one still alive who can do it. That's why I came back to this dead place with you to help you with your insane pursuit of that girl." Gordon looked back to Verra. "She's moving again. Let's go."

  They rose from behind the boulder and followed once more. It was business as usual for a few hours. It was hard to tell - as the sky was obscured by a thick layer of clouds that little light passed through - but it appeared to be around midday when a change finally happened. In the distance, a large shape began to creep up the horizon.

  "What is that?" Luca asked Gordon.

  After squinting at it for a moment, he excitedly said, "A city! It must be the ruins of Harra Eli; there cannot be another city of that size in this area. This is great. It's the opportunity we've been waiting for. We can get closer to her while she's passing through this city."

  As they drew closer, the shape of the city came into view; as well as the reason Verra needed to pass through it. The city was built over a massive bridge, which stood over the centre of a large valley that stretched on for several kilometres. Perhaps it had once been a lake. In any case, the cliffs were too narrow to climb, and the valley was too wide to walk around without wasting several hours.

  Some time later, Verra reached the ruined city gates and carefully stepped through a large gap in them. Luca and Gordon waited as nearby as they dared for a few minutes, and then followed after her.

  The city was as barren and empty as the grey desert outside its walls, but it at least had the remnants of what had once been vibrant life. It had once been a thriving trade city, which made sense if it had been built as a bridge over a lake. Empty merchant stalls lined the streets, as well as overturned carts that had once carried produce. Everything was covered in a millimetre of dust. Doors lazily swung back and forth on their rusted hinges. The flag of Acaria, its colours once bright and proud, was faded from time and exposure, and flapped uselessly in the wind with no one to see. The bones of monsters lied in the shadows between buildings.

  "I don't see her," Gordon said. "Let's find a hiding place quickly and search for her."

  That wasn't hard. The thick clouds in the sky gave little light, so the shadows were full and easy to disappear in. Luca and Gordon quickly made their way from street to street, in search of the dark woman.

  Soon, they found her. In fact, they nearly stepped out in front of her, but Luca caught a glimpse of movement and grabbed Gordon by the collar of his shirt, and pulled him back into the darkness of the alley before Verra stepped out of her own a
lley. It would seem that she was hiding as well.

  "Perhaps she does know we're following her," Gordon whispered as they watched Verra carefully step out of an alley two blocks from them. This time, Gordon did have reason to be whispering.

  As Verra began to move away from them, Luca was about to move to follow her, when Gordon placed his hand before Luca. "Wait."

  "Why?"

  "I have a bad feeling about this," Gordon said, his eyes narrow.

  A moment later, Verra stopped in the middle of the street. Her head down, she slowly put her hands up in the air in a gesture of surrender.

  "What the..." Luca muttered.

  And then, an armoured Acarian stepped out of one of the derelict buildings; holding a bow with an arrow drawn and aimed at Verra's chest. The Acarian was then followed by a second, also with a bow pointed at her. And then a third, and a fourth. Soon, two dozen Acarians had emerged from the nearby buildings, and formed a circle around Verra.

  "It looks like my theory was right," Luca said.

  Gordon scowled. "So it would seem." He squinted, but it was hard to make out the fine details of what was going on over there. If anything was being said, they were too far to hear it. "We need to get closer. It looks like there's someone else there."

  "What if there's more Acarians in the buildings?" Luca asked.

  "The ones that were here for Verra didn't see us. Let's continue to be careful. I want to know what's going on."

  So they made their way through the alleys until they were close enough to see and hear what was going on. They found an overturned waggon near the edge of one of the alleys, and they darted to it. There was a crack in its floor that was big enough for them to see through.

  "Damn..." Gordon muttered as he got his first look at the scene.

  Verra was on her knees, her hands gloved and bound at the wrist behind her back. An Acarian with no helm stood within the circle in front of her, his arms crossed. Luca instantly recognised him; after all, he had seen him not long ago.

  "It's funny, really," Serpos said to his captive. "You're so known for being a master at getting to your enemies without them knowing, but it turns out you're absolutely terrible at getting away from them."

  The sword was off Verra's back and was placed on the ground behind her.

  "How did you know it was me?" Verra asked calmly.

  Serpos smiled smugly. "Killing Marcus was a bold move. He was the king of Saeticia, after all. But the way you killed him? Your style is unique, Verra. Did you believe for a second that we would not know it was you when we heard?"

  "I suppose I didn't think about that."

  "We haven't heard from you in a while," Serpos said. "There were rumours that you had abandoned your post in Sendor City, but we believed better of you. You've always been so loyal, after all." He paused for a moment. "So tell me... you clearly weren't returning to Acarienthia. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were on your way to that temple our king is so fond of."

  Verra said nothing. She met Serpos' gaze with a steady gaze.

  He walked past her, over to the sheathed sword on the ground. He reached down and picked it up. "And a sword? Not your style to carry one of- Damn!"

  Serpos threw the sword aside as though it were made of fire; which to him, it was. The blade dropped on the ground some distance away from them both. Serpos pulled off one of the gauntlets he wore; though the steel was untouched, the skin of his hands was red with minor burns.

  "A Rixeor Fragment... Like King Zinoro's sword..."

  He looked back to Verra, studying the neutral expression on her face. "This was the Saetician king's, wasn't it? That was why you killed him. But instead of taking it to our king, you were running away. You thought to keep the sword for yourself..."

  Serpos pointed to one of the armoured revenants. "You. Carry it."

  The revenant silently went to the sword and picked it up. Though the blade was certainly burning it, the dead man made no sound of protest or pain. He simply stood there, holding it, and awaiting further instructions.

  "Keep arrows on her and be ready to fire at all times," Serpos said to his soldiers. "If she makes any kind of action that could be interpreted as an attempt to escape, turn her into a pincushion. And no matter what, make sure her hands stay bound."

  One of the revenants went to Verra and pulled her up to a standing position. Serpos turned and started down the street. The revenants followed behind him, with three walking behind Verra with arrows pointed at her back. At the very last, the revenant carrying the sword followed.

  Luca turned to Gordon. "He certainly gets around a lot."

  "I'm not surprised Zinoro sent him," Gordon said. "You need to send someone to give orders to the acolytes... they can't function on their own. But an ordinary soldier wouldn't be enough. She's too dangerous. He needed his last available acolyte to catch her."

  "And now he's got the sword..." Luca said. "Or at least, he has possession of it. He can't use it unless he kills her."

  "This complicates things. We need that sword, but now we have to deal with Serpos and Verra... Under any other circumstances I would go against facing them, but we cannot let Zinoro get that sword..." Gordon bit his lip. "What to do...?"

  "For now, we should follow them," Luca said. He moved out from behind the waggon, and made his way back into the alley. Gordon followed him.

  They trailed the group of Acarians back to the entrance of the city, where Serpos ordered the revenants to push open the broken gate. Six of them mechanically obeyed the order, pushing against the broken, stuck wooden gate with their full weight. The door stubbornly refused to budge.

  "Perhaps six isn't enough..." Serpos muttered, glancing over at Verra for a moment. It was clear what he was thinking... he might need to use more of his men to get the gate open, but if he did sent more to do it, he would have fewer watching over Verra.

  The sound of steel dropping to the ground echoed through the streets. Everyone's eyes went to the revenant in the back; the one carrying the sword. Now on the ground, the blade rested in it's sheath beside a pair of gloves. Both the sheath and the gloves were unblemished, but the revenant's hands were not so fortunate. Melted flesh dripped off the stumps at it's wrists.

  "You've got to be kidding me," Serpos said. "The sword actually got so hot it melted through its hands? What an inconvenience." He glanced at the remaining revenants; the ones guarding Verra, and the six who were pushing at the broken gate. "That one only lasted a few minutes carrying that thing. It would take hundreds of them to get it back to Acarienthia."

  "You could always just let me carry it," Verra suggested.

  "You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Serpos scoffed. "This is indeed an inconvenience, because now I have a choice to make. I know King Zinoro would want that blade. But I also know he wants the traitor. However, I can only bring him one. So do I leave the sword here and return to him with you, as he ordered me to? Or do I kill you here and now, disobeying his orders to return you alive, but giving him something much better instead?"

  "The sword will still be here when you get back. I'm the only one who can carry it, remember?"

  "I'm not the risk-taking type." Serpos drew the spear from his back and put the tip right under Verra's chin, pushing her head up just a bit. "It would be quite a shame to kill you, though. You were useful for a while. You have a pretty face. I like you better than the others, I'll admit. The idea of killing you, even after you betrayed us, doesn't sit well with me."

  Verra smiled slowly. "I'm no traitor. You never understood me at all. If you came here to find the traitor, you came to the right place. You just caught the wrong person."

  "What do you mean?"

  She turned her head slowly, looking away from Serpos, right at the spot where Luca and Gordon were hiding. "The real traitor is hiding right over there."

  Gordon drew in a breath.

  "She did know," Luca whispered.

  Serpos stared in the direction she was looking to. Luca knew
he could not see them, but he still felt exposed and vulnerable.

  "Only a fool would fall for such a trick," Serpos said. He hesitated for a moment. "But an even greater fool would disregard it. There's a chance you're right, and I don't like taking risks." He snapped his fingers and pointed to the revenants who had finally finished pushing the door open. "You! Go take a look!"

  The six revenants turned away from the door, and started in the direction Luca and Gordon were hiding. After exchanging a quick, panicked look, Luca hastily retreated back into the shadows. Gordon followed after him.

  But the revenants must have detected them nonetheless. A few arrows were fired, bouncing off the stone tiles where they had been standing a moment ago. Gordon groaned aloud as one of the arrows glanced his thigh, and he fell on his knee.

  It was no use. They were found. Luca drew his sword and stepped out.

  Serpos' eyes grew wide as he saw Luca emerging from the darkness.

  "Well, well," he muttered. "Look who it is." Serpos moved away from beside Verra, to get a better look. He stepped in sight of Gordon, who was kneeling, his hand covering the bleeding slash across his leg.

  Serpos began to laugh aloud, his voice booming and echoing through the streets. "Gordon's alive! Hah! I'd thought you dead since you left for Samgo! You're a long way from where you're supposed to be." He turned back to Verra. "So you're saying that Gordon's the traitor, not you?"

  "He's been plotting against Zinoro for some time now," Verra told him.

  "Is this true?" Serpos asked Gordon.

  Gordon looked up at Serpos in contempt, fearless in spite of the six armed revenants before him. "It is. He's a madman, and so are you, Rameed."

  "You are a bold man, Gordon," Serpos said through his teeth. "To use that name..."

  "It's your true name, Rameed," Gordon continued resolute. "Rameed, the mad general of Samgo. Rameed, the butcher of children."

  "Men, women, children alike!" Serpos laughed. "Oh, how I adored the little children..."

  Luca's hand found the hilt of his sword. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, he gathered his mana and warped before Serpos, bringing his sword down. But his enemy's reflexes were sharp, and Serpos parried the strike with his spear.

  "I told you before, boy," he said, pushing Luca back. "I'm faster than you."

  Luca considered the situation. There were many revenants around, with drawn bows that could be fired in a second. But they would not act unless ordered, and Luca would have plenty of time to warp away if Serpos did give such an order.

  Luca knew little of Gordon's combat abilities, but that didn't matter anyway, as he was wounded. He would have to fight Serpos on his own.

  Some distance away, Verra watched them with an odd look. Marcus' sword was too far away for her to reach, and revenants were still watching her; their orders from before still standing.

  Luca shifted the sword in his hand to reverse grip. He closed in on Serpos, and struck in a series of swift attacks. Serpos blocked each stroke, taking careful steps away to preserve the distance and prevent Luca from gaining an advantage. Luca fought carefully; he couldn't afford to make a mistake. Serpos was a dangerous fighter; if Luca made even the slightest of errors in his approach, the offencive would switch.

  Wielding his spear with both hands like a staff, Serpos turned aside yet another of Luca's attacks. The battle paused momentarily, and Luca saw the look in his opponent's eyes. His previous mask was gone again; Luca saw the true face now. The animal that he really was.

  Caught off guard by this change, Luca was caught in a parry by Serpos. His footing was off, giving Serpos the chance to push him back and throw off his balance. Naturally, his enemy did not miss the opportunity. Serpos took the offencive.

  Serpos' attacks increased in speed and ferocity, but without losing any of their previous skill. Luca blocked each swing of the large spear, and looked for an opening to shift the tide of the battle, but he no longer had the advantage.

  Luca deflected another stroke and warped back a few metres to give himself some breathing room. And he needed it, too; he noticed then that he was short of breath, and sweating. He was having trouble keeping up with Serpos. While Luca's attacks were slowly growing slower and weaker, Serpos seemed to have an endless reserve of strength. Despite the two decades of youth Luca had on him, Serpos outmatched him as a fighter.

  He expected some taunt or jab at his defencive retreat, but none came. Serpos' mask was gone, and he was now in his animal mind. He had no words to share. There was nothing more than the instinct to kill behind those eyes.

  Serpos raised his open hand, and fire formed around it. Luca readied his mana; dodging Serpos' spells would be no problem with his teleportation spell... However, warping around seemed to use a lot of mana. He was already growing tired; he couldn't afford to drain himself and succumb to mana exhaustion.

  There was only one choice left to him. He would have to fight dirty, and end it quickly. The part of him that had once worshipped the Way of Uro felt disgusted at the thought, but he rationalised to himself that it was the only way. There was more at stake than his honour.

  The first fireball came, and Luca warped away to avoid it. He reappeared atop one of the empty houses of the city. From where he was, he could see the entire area. Both Verra and Gordon were injured, and has revenants standing over them, preventing them both from interfering with the battle.

  Serpos quickly spotted him atop the building, and hurled another fireball at him. This time when Luca warped away, he did not go to a different spot, but rather warped behind the chimney of the roof he was already on. The fireball struck the roof, and flames spread from the impact point.

  Within moments, the fire was growing across the building. Luca remained behind the chimney, closing his eyes and visualising the street in his mind's eye. While the teleportation spell was still very much a mystery to him, he had certain deductions about the way it worked. During the battle in the valley, he had been unable to warp to any spot he hadn't been able to clearly see. He did not know how limited the range of the spell was, but he knew that as long as he could see where he wanted to go, he could get there; even if it was the neck of a dragon a hundred metres in the sky.

  He kept his eyes tightly closed, even as the fire grew around him. Serpos was undoubtedly wondering where he had gone, thinking he would have warped to a different rooftop, or perhaps even fled. He was counting on that. He narrowed his concentration down to the spot just behind where Serpos had been. Focusing on that exact point, he gathered his mana and warped, just before the heat of the fire grew too hot to bare.

  Opening his eyes, he saw Serpos' back. He had his chance! Luca stepped forward, bringing his sword forward to the spot where Serpos' heart would be-!

  Serpos spun around with the speed of a snake. He hand grabbed the blade of Luca's sword in a flash of red and pushed it aside. Luca had only a moment to realise what had happened. He tried to move away, but he couldn't get away without abandoning his weapon. Serpos thrust his spear, and it struck Luca in the chest.

  He fell on his back, the wind knocked out of him. His chest was on fire where the spear had struck him. By some miracle, the wound was not deep enough to be fatal. No... it was no miracle. It was the armour he was wearing that had saved his life. But even so, he was still bleeding.

  Before he could rise, Serpos was before him, and the point of his spear was in Luca's face. He froze. There was no way to escape, not with Serpos right in front of him like that. The man could end his life in a second if he chose to.

  So why didn't he?

  "I had a feeling you were up to something," Serpos said. There was no humour or gloat in his voice; he was still the animal. But he was not a mindless animal; he was a smart one. Smart enough to stop and talk if he needed to. "The skill you have is useful, but you do not use it to its full potential. I was still quicker than you." Blood dripped down from Serpos hand; despite the wound, somehow the man had blocked Luca's sword without losi
ng any fingers.

  Luca looked to the others. Verra was still watching them with an unreadable expression. Gordon sat in the streets, wearing a terrified look. And rightfully so; Serpos had won the battle.

  "I regret killing you, to tell the truth," Serpos said, a faint hint of regret in his voice confirming his honesty. "You certainly have potential. As one of King Zinoro's acolytes, you could have done great things."

  "Are you that much of a fool?" Luca asked. "You think I would serve the man who killed my father?"

  "Why not? I did."

  "Wh-what?"

  A half-smile crossed Serpos' features. "My father, the leader of the Black Rose rebellion in Samgo. Like most rebellions, it was quickly dealt with. The day after those fools fell, I was taken to the capital of Ullris. I, then a boy of only fifteen, bent the knee to King Iago and served under his first general, the very man I had seen slay my father. You see, I understand what strength is, unlike you. I respect those stronger than me. And in time, I grew stronger than any of them. The Samgoians drove me out years later, so I went to serve a man even stronger than they. And one day, I will return there and crush them for that."

  "Gordon said you..."

  "That I was called a butcher by them? I was. Without mercy, I slaughtered many and took women and even children for my own desires. Judge me if you will. The weak always condemn those greater than themselves. But the truth is simply that weak exist to serve and be slain by the strong. It is the way of this world."

  Luca glared at Serpos in revulsion. He wanted nothing more than to take his sword and drive it Serpos' chest. However, his sword was resting on the ground; too far away for him to reach. If he made a move for it, Serpos would drive his spear through him, and it would all be over.

  And there was no longer a tether with Emila to save his life. If he suffered a mortal injury, he was dead. It would all be over. Not since Arimos had Luca felt so vulnerable.

  But he wasn't going to beg for his life. He was too proud a man for that. He would continue to fight.

  "You say that you are strong," Luca said. "You caught me off guard, sure. But you haven't truly beaten me, have you? Let me rise and continue the fight. And we can see which of us is stronger."

  Serpos stared at him for a moment, perhaps considering. "No. I don't think I'll do that."

  "Why not? You're so sure of your strength. Prove it."

  "I have no need to. I've proven it already..."

  Luca narrowed his eyes. "Then you're a coward."

  There was a brief flash on uncertainty in Serpos' eyes. Perhaps Luca was right. Serpos spoke of his own power and how the weak were beneath him, but if given the option he would rather win a battle the easy way.

  His head was aching again. That irritating buzzing had returned. What a convenient time to do so.

  Luca saw Serpos' gloved hands tighten on his spear. He might have been about to drive it into Luca's chest. But he didn't. For at that moment, the large gate of the town burst open, and a massive beast charged in, crushing a few revenants under feet as thick as tree trunks.

  "What the-?!" Serpos shouted, momentarily forgetting Luca at the chaos. "Our mount? How did it get free from its binds?!"

  Luca seized the opportunity. He grabbed his sword and rolled out from beneath Serpos, quickly finding a spot with his eyes and warping there. He was back on his feet, and he rose and turned back to Serpos, ready to continue the fight. His chest hurt, but he could still fight.

  Serpos noticed his movement, but paid it little mind. His attention was currently on the behemoth charging through the streets. "Kill it!" he ordered his revenants.

  They moved to do so, firing arrows from their bows at the behemoth. Three rounds of arrows struck the beast before it fell, collapsing dead in the street about ten metres from where Serpos stood. Two figures, who had been riding the large saddle on the behemoth's back, had jumped from it before it fell. As the dust settled from the beast's chaos, they stepped out from behind it, swords drawn. Luca immediately recognised them.

  "Are you alright?" Brand shouted to Luca from across the street. As his side was a bespectacled girl with blond hair that Luca also knew.

  Luca gave a start, surprised that they were there, but nonetheless glad to see them. "A little bruised, but I'll live!"

  Wiosna smiled to Luca, then turned her attention over to Serpos. "So it's this guy again?"

  Luca made his way over to them, keeping a careful eye on Serpos. The man made no move against them, merely watching cautiously. "He doesn't have a dragon anymore, but he's still dangerous."

  "I'm sure the three of us can handle him," Wiosna confidently assured him.

  "What are you even doing here?" Luca asked them.

  "We'll have time to talk later," Brand said, twirling his scimitar eagerly. "First, let's deal with out friend here-"

  "Luca!!!" Gordon shouted from where he was, pointing to the city gates. Luca turned, and saw a flash of black passing through them.

  "Verra...!" he exclaimed. "She must have slipped away during the chaos."

  "Who?" Wiosna asked.

  Luca bit his lower lip in frustration. "I'm the fastest..."

  "Fastest?" Brand repeated. "What's going on?"

  He turned back to the two of them. "Can you two deal with Serpos for a while? It's extremely important that I don't let that woman get away."

  Wiosna grinned. "That won't be a problem." Brand nodded in turn.

  "Just delay him for now," he told them. "We can finish him off when I get back." And with that, Luca warped to the gates.

  He ran through the busted ruins of the wooden gates, and out into the Grey Wasteland. He looked around intently, but he didn't see Verra anywhere.

  Then, a glimpse of movement in the corner of his eye drew his attention. He saw the woman in black running to the large chasm that had once been the deep lake the city was built over.

  He warped to her, as close as he could. He overestimated, however, and he appeared right behind her. He knocked into her, and she tripped with a loud gasp. The sheathed blade fell from her arms, tumbling onto the ground. They were so close to the edge that they both nearly fell over, and the sword fell to the edge, nearly falling into the chasm.

  Luca drew himself up and away from Verra before she had a chance to touch him. She pulled herself up to her hands and knees, and turned to see him. His sword, still drawn, was pointed to her.

  "Are you going to kill me, young man?" she asked in an amused tone.

  "If I have to," he said. His voice was as level as could be. "Just give me the sword and you can live."

  Verra frowned. "It's right there," she said with a tilt of her head. "Go ahead and take it."

  "I'm no fool. It's a Rixeor Fragment. You have to pass it to another master, or it would burn me." He remembered the burns he'd sustained in Eccador all too well.

  "Perhaps I would do that," she said. "But it's not mine to give."

  "What are you saying? That sword belonged to Marcus... You stole it when you killed him!"

  "I did," she said. "But I have no intention of keeping that sword, or even using it. I don't care much for blades, to be honest. Too barbaric. My way of killing is... different." With that last sentence, a wicked grin crossed her features.

  "Then..." Luca trailed off, unsure of the situation. It was looking more and more like he had no chance of reasoning with this insane woman. But if he was going to kill her, then how should he go about it? He would have to be careful, after all; one touch was all she needed, and he would die.

  "The sword belongs to my true master," Verra said.

  "Zinoro?"

  "No. Never. I merely acted the part. What I told Serpos wasn't a lie, really. Gordon is the one who betrayed Zinoro. I'm no traitor... because I was never his."

  Verra pulled herself up to her feet, and brushed the dirt off her clothes. Luca took a step back as she did, to keep a safe distance.

  "My true master is far greater than Zinoro," Verra continued. "I would give my
life to her without question. I am doing my duty, and bringing Marcus' sword. And if I must give my life to keep it from you, so be it."

  Before Luca could stop her, she kicked the sword behind her, and it fell into the valley.

  Verra smiled. "You should get back to your friends. Serpos will kill them if you dawdle here too long."

  And then, laughing aloud, Verra stepped backwards and tipped over the edge, disappearing into the chasm after the sword.

  "No!" Luca shouted. He ran after her, and peered over the edge just in time to see her for a brief second before she vanished completely in the thick fog that filled the chasm. For half an insane second, he considered jumping after her, and using his teleportation magick to bring her back up. But he knew that wouldn't work. Even if he could see her through the fog, and see the ledge again after grabbing her, she would still use her magick to kill him.

  And even if he could save her, it would be pointless. Because he would still not have the Rixeor Fragment.

  "Dammit... I shouldn't have hesitated..."

  But he knew why he had. Killing faceless revenants was fine. Killing scum like Dreevius was even easier. But killing a woman, especially in such a way as he would have needed to? He knew he wasn't that ruthless, even if it was a woman who he knew was a murderer.

  But still, in the most important moment, he had failed.

  Verra's last words reminded him of the fighting in the city. "Serpos..." he muttered.

  Now that was someone he could kill.

  He warped back to the gate, and ran through it into the city. The fire Serpos had started was growing, he now noticed. It had spread to other buildings, and covered almost the entire side of the street. There didn't seem to be any more revenants. Those that the behemoth hadn't trampled down must have been killed by Brand and Wiosna.

  Luca did not see Serpos, nor did he see Wiosna. But he did spot Brand, collapsed in the street, on the side that was not ablaze. Gordon was at his side, apparently tending to his wounds.

  Luca ran to them. Brand's was bleeding in several spots, but the wounds didn't appear to be too bad. The worst seemed to be a gash in his side, which Gordon was wrapping bandages around.

  "Are you alright?"

  Brand gave a shaky nod.

  "Where's Wiosna?"

  "Still fighting that guy..." Brand muttered. He pointed to one of the alleyways at the other side of the street, where the flames grew every moment. "They went over that way."

  Luca took off in the direction Brand pointed to, ignoring Gordon's shouts. Entering the alley, he found himself running between two burning buildings. The flames were overwhelming, but he tried not to think about that. His sword still in his hand, he searched vigilantly for Serpos and Wiosna.

  "-scumbag!"

  He froze. The sound had come from inside one of the houses. Though it was on fire like all the others, it was still intact. The doorway, which appeared to have been open just a moment ago, was broken off its hinges.

  Through a gap in the boards, Luca could see the shape of Wiosna, in what appeared to be a kitchen. She was on one knee, coughing. Her glasses were off, and there were several cuts across her face. A few droplets of blood ran down her chin, and as she gave another coughing fit, she coughed up more blood, clutching her ribs as she did so.

  "Weak," came the sound of Serpos' voice. "You're all weak. I enjoy the fights, but I'm disappointed in you all. Is this really the best the Alliance has to offer?"

  Wiosna said nothing. She looked like she was struggling just to stay conscious. Luca looked around, trying to get a clear enough image of the room to teleport inside. But there just wasn't enough he could see.

  "I'll take you back with me, then," Serpos said. Luca saw his gloved hand enter frame and grab Wiosna by her throat, lifting her up to her feet. She struggled, but her sword was gone. Luca heard a loud smack, and her struggles ceased.

  "I'm going to kill your friends," Serpos said to her. "And then I'm gonna fuck you until you're cold."

  "N-no..."

  "No?" Serpos laughed. "You can't stop me. Nobody is coming to save you. Just give it up. It won't hurt as much if you don't struggle."

  Luca beat his fists against the burning wood. He could feel tears about to form in his eyes, knowing what was about to happen to Wiosna, and knowing he was powerless to stop it.

  He couldn't see what was happening to her, but her expression told him it was horrible. She was crying through an expression of terror.

  And then, as a drop of blood ran down her forehead, Wiosna's expression changed. The fear vanished, replaced by a blank, empty look. Her eyes were open, looking right at Luca through the gap in the wall, but not seeing him. Those eyes then lit up, and a grin slowly spread across her face. Something about that grin was wrong, and Luca felt as though a bucket of cold water had just been poured over him.

  Wiosna then moved, disappearing from frame.

  "Oh, so you've stopped struggling, have you?"

  "I have." Her voice was different; almost sultry. The fear was gone.

  "Well, not here. This place is on fire. After I've killed your friends... then we can-"

  "No, I want it now. I want it now!"

  "What are you... Stop that! Stop that you bitch! No! No, don't!"

  Serpos then let out a scream unlike anything Luca had ever heard. There was sick tearing sound, and then the sound of something falling on the floor.

  "I guess you'll have a little trouble fucking me without that, huh?"

  Serpos' screams had died down to pained gasps and sobs.

  "That's okay. See, I found this knife in that kitchen? I can just fuck you with this, instead!"

  "N-no!"

  The sounds of meat being sliced filled the air. Luca was silent through all this, oblivious to the burning buildings around him. He couldn't move, he couldn't think. He was frozen in shock.

  After several minutes, the sounds inside the house died down. And then, as though to mock his earlier powerlessness and desperation, half the wall collapsed, allowing him access to the building.

  He walked past the flames like they weren't there. It was weird, that through all this the town was burning down around them. He climbed inside the building, finding himself in a bedroom. He ran and kicked the door open, feeling a rush of heat as he did so. He covered his face until it passed, and then ran into the hallway, racing to the kitchen.

  "Wiosna!"

  He emerged to find her standing in the middle of the room, holding a kitchen knife covered in red. In front of her, collapsed on the floor was a disgusting figure, covered in slices and slashes that had once looked like Serpos. He couldn't keep his eyes on the mangled body too long.

  She turned to look as him after he called her name, and her expression softened. Dropping the knife, she ran to him, and into his arms, crying into his chest.

  "It's... it's okay..."

  Though he consoled her, he was a bit afraid. The voice that had spoken to Serpos was hers, certainly; but he had never heard her utter such cruelty before. It was surreal; he felt like he was dreaming.

  "Luca, I... I think I did this..."

  He wasn't sure what to say to that.

  "Let's just get out of here for now. This place can't stay up much longer."

  She pulled away from him, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Okay."

  As they left the burning house, Luca couldn't help but take one last glance at the mangled figure of Serpos.

  It twitched feebly.

 

  "I've been trying to get in contact with you since earlier today," Wiosna said. "You know, with my magick. It's hard to send these kinds of messages if the other person doesn't know they're coming, or an idea of what they're about. But I wanted you to know we were coming to help."

  "I see," Luca said. "I've been getting headaches."

  "Sorry," Wiosna said morosely. "I thought I could help, but all it did was cause you more trouble."

  Seeing her sad expression, Luca quickly reassured her. "It'
s alright. You meant well. It's my fault. I completely forgot you were a Mind-form user. If I'd remembered that, perhaps I would have known."

  Brand and Gordon were silent. The four of them were gathered out by the gate, resting after the battle. The fire had died down, there not being much to burn in the empty town anyway. After Luca had explained what had happened with Verra, and then Serpos, Brand had told them their part of the story.

  The Sonoians and Saeticians had retreated for the time being, and according to Selphie, they weren't going to be trying again for a while. There was no word on what was going on with the Torachians, but a letter had been sent informing them of the disaster and urging them to retreat as well.

  Zaow and Selphie had left to return to T'Saw with the remainder of their army. Jared went with Selphie, of course, and Ash had gone as well. Brand and Wiosna, after hearing about Luca and Emila fleeing to Acaria, had chosen to go after them. Over the course of ten days, they had tracked Luca the same way he had tracked Emila, but being unable to close the lead until today.

  Brand had expected Emila to be with Luca, though. "But if she isn't with you, then..."

  "I don't know."

  After getting the rest of the explanation, including who Gordon was and why he was helping Luca, Wiosna had calmed down enough from the events with Serpos to tell Luca about trying to contact him through her Mind magick.

  Gordon looked as depressed as Wiosna. "You should have told me about those headaches. I'm a Mind-form magus myself. I would have known what they were, and possibly been able to decode them."

  "You are?" Wiosna said, sitting up in interest.

  "Indeed," he said, and his face fell. "I'm sorry, Luca. Mind-form has little use in combat, and after that arrow struck me I could hardly walk. There was nothing I could do but get in your way."

  "I understand."

  "If I could have moved even a bit beyond crawling, I could have gone after Verra while you were fighting Serpos," he continued. "But I couldn't even do that, and now we've lost the sword. We were so close, and we let it slip right through our fingers..."

  Luca didn't care about that. It was frustrating, sure... but at the moment he was more concerned about Wiosna. She was being quiet. He wasn't sure what had happened back at that house, but he knew that Wiosna had acted very unlike herself and done something terrible. And she didn't seem to remember doing it.

  He had never encountered something like this before. Was this the only time this had ever happened? Or has this happened before? Some of her behaviour was odd at times, like when she had impulsively kissed him in Reven... was that part of this as well?

  He didn't know what to do about this. For the time being, though, he would have to just keep an eye on her.

  "Luca..." Brand said, looking up at him. "If you've been chasing this Verra woman all this time, then where has Emila gone?"

  Luca frowned. "I wish I knew."

  An arrow flew past Luca's ear and bounced off the stone wall before him. He gasped, time seeming to stop as he realised how close it had come to hitting his skull.

  "What?!" Wiosna exclaimed.

  "What was that?!" Brand asked.

  Luca turned, drawing his sword anew. In the distance, on the other side of the town, he saw a figure stepping out from behind the dead behemoth, carrying one of the revenants' bows.

  "He's still alive...!" Wiosna gasped.

  Serpos fired another arrow. This one would have likely hit one of them - whoever Serpos was aiming for - but Brand threw out a fireball that intercepted the arrow and burnt it to ash.

  "I'll kill you!" Serpos screamed at them.

  Luca held his sword with both hands in a combat stance. The blade was pointed straight ahead at Serpos.

  "I know what to do now," Luca said.

  He used his teleportation magick, warping from where he was to right in front of Serpos.

  Serpos gasped, his mangled and burned face suddenly shocked.

  Luca's sword, which was still held before him, was buried in his chest, having materialised inside him when Luca had appeared. Luca hadn't needed to move a muscle.

  The twisted face shifted into a grin. "There you go. Now you're doing it right."

  He dropped the bow and grabbed the blade of Luca's sword. Despite missing a few fingers on each hand, he was still able to grip it well enough to pull himself towards Luca. Serpos slid down the blade slowly, leaving a trail of blood on the end sticking out of his back. As he drew closer, Luca thought he was going to attack him, but instead he spoke to Luca in a ragged, dying voice.

  "She's at Acarienthia."

  "What? Who is?"

  Serpos' grin grew. "Your little girlfriend. The one you came here chasing after. She went to the capital to plead with Zinoro to show mercy. But... hehe... Zinoro is stronger than me... He had no mercy."

  "Emila...?"

  "That's what you earn for besting me," Serpos said. "Now... make an end of it."

  Luca stared at the man in front of him for a moment more, considering all the awful things he had done. Then, he stepped back, pulling the sword from Serpos' chest, then he spun around and sliced the head from his shoulders.

  The headless body fell to its knees, and the head flew in an arc through the air, before landing somewhere. A second later, both disappeared.

  "What did he say?"

  Luca turned around. Brand was back up on his feet, and he had followed Luca. Wiosna and Gordon stood behind him.

  "He said... that Emila is at the capital."

  Brand and Wiosna exchanged glances. "Well, I guess that's where we're going," Brand said.

  "Are you sure?" Luca said. "You know who's waiting there... and we don't have that Rixeor Fragment."

  "I told you before, didn't I?" Brand said. "I'm with you until the end."

  Luca couldn't help but grin.

  "Why is Emila at the capital?" Wiosna asked.

  "To try to convince Zinoro to show mercy," Luca muttered, his grin fading as he was reminded of the situation. "After all that talk about how dangerous he was, why would she think she could possibly talk him out of it?"

  "But she had to have been there before Serpos left, right?" Brand said. "So Zinoro hasn't killed her, for whatever reason."

  "Indeed, but there's no guarantee it'll stay that way." Luca turned and looked to the town gate. "We have to set off as soon as possible. Brand, can you walk?"

  "Well enough."

  "Then let's go."

  "Are you really in such a hurry to rush off to your death?" Gordon said, stepping up next to Luca. "Without a Rixeor Fragment, what can you do? I've told you this a thousand times, but Zinoro simply cannot be matched in normal combat. The reason he likely hasn't killed that girl is because he knows she's gone there to save you, and intends to use her to lure you into a trap."

  Luca frowned. "If that's the case, then so be it. But I will not abandon her. What would you suggest?"

  "We should at least attempt to recover the Rixeor Fragment."

  "There's nothing that can be done," Luca said. "It fell into the chasm where that lake used to be. I cannot see the bottom, so I cannot warp there. And the ledge is too steep to climb down, even with rope. We might be able to reach the bottom by climbing at another spot, but we would have to travel a long while to reach the other side, and searching the whole pit for one single blade could take weeks. Even if Emila's life wasn't at stake, we don't have enough supplies for that."

  Gordon frowned, narrowing his eyes. Perhaps he was trying to find some other way to reach the sword; some angle that Luca had missed. But he was silent.

  "Curse it," he muttered. "We were so close. It's so frustrating. If there were gods, I would think they were mocking us."

  "Perhaps we could sneak into the palace and save Emila without Zinoro even knowing we were there?" Brand suggested.

  "It's worth a shot," Luca said. "But if Zinoro knows who she is, he'll be expecting me."

  They fell silent, each knowing what was at stake, and knowing tha
t there was no going back now. Luca was going to Acarienthia, one way or another, and they each had sworn to go with him. It was likely a trip to their deaths, and that did not escape any of them, but nobody brought it up again.

  They quickly gathered up what supplies they could from the fallen Acarians, and then they set out, through the massive wooden doors and back into the Grey Wasteland. The mood was sombre, and they made little conversation... the greyness of the plains reflecting their moods.

  In the sky, the clouds had grown darker than usual. A storm would come that night.