“You will doom us all!” the woman cried. “We will be forever plagued by curses!”
“Pfft! Curses are lies they tell us to brand us with fear! No, this war is making them money. That’s the real reason why they won’t end it. Society is feeding their pockets for food, for shelter and protection. Now tell me, why would they let all of that go? Some people are just addicted to the glory and the dominion of it all, that they wouldn’t think twice about the suffering of their own people. That’s where The Deo comes in to save the day!” She stretched her hands out, a powerful gust of wind picking up speed along her feet. Her teal hair whipped with air as it circled her body, confirming that she was a wind elementalist. “You are part of a smaller sacrifice, contributing to the greater good. You’d be seen as a hero of Mavriel, giving your worthless lives meaning!”
“You’re full of shit. These innocent people don’t have to suffer to preserve fae kind!”
“Ah, that’s where you’re wrong. If we don’t purge this world of the selfish and immoral, how are we ever going to learn from our mistakes?”
“You’re the last person to talk about being immoral!”
She grinned. “Your words are meaningless. You’re in the same pool as her, a traitor!”
She flicked her arm forward and a gust of wind exploded. Luckily I ducked in time, covering the woman and her husband as I lay flat on the floor. At the sound of strife, Pixie marched up the steps, her arm swinging the door wide open, breaking it off its hinges.
“What in Mother Mavriel is going on over here?!” she boomed, the sight of her making Maxi cower under me. With quick thinking, I pulled out about the only item that could help us right now, my rare freeze bomb.
I tossed it at the bandits, a white cloud of smoke dispersing into the air. Drawing my arm up and over the couple I shielded us from the mist, and when it cleared, I noticed that only one bandit was affected.
Confused, I peeked at the description of the item, where there was a subscript in tiny letters, reading, ‘ineffective for youth 13 and younger.’
“The fuck?! What kind of warning label is that?!”
“Big mama!” Lanette cried, rushing over to her frozen ally. I took that time to scoop the unconscious husband over my shoulder, followed by his hyperventilating wife. Making a run for it, I sprinted past the door and into the woods.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Huge gaping steps—I didn’t stop to catch my breath as I kept my eyes forward. I was too focused on the task at hand, which was getting the couple to safety. Their lives were now my responsibility and I wasn’t about to lose my stride and second guess my decision.
Keep a low profile, find the ingredients for the codex, and secure the Grimoire for Alzera-Kar and Jezz. Yeah, that plan sounded amazing on paper, but shit was never smooth sailing. Not back at home, and certainly not here. Fate didn’t want to break tradition, and I was destined to break a leg or two in any adventure I found myself in. Doing the right thing came with a few hiccups, and being chased by a little girl with a boulder for a bodyguard was one of them.
I doubled back the way I came, hoping that it’d led me to the cave I passed next to the stream. The grove was thick with trees and undergrowth, but I navigated through it like the path was traced on the back of my hand. I made the mistake of turning my head around to see how close she was, realizing that she wasn’t alone. Crap, that pint-sized pain in the ass must have had a reversal crystal, because both of them were on my tail.
They chased us down like wolves on the hunt. Lanette tossed a crescent wind blade, the speed on that thing making me duck and turn. With a sharp right I tucked behind a tree, feeling the sting of her blade slashing along my calf. I’d gotten lucky, and the woman looking up at me knew it too. I could have lost a leg there, feeling hot blood run down my skin and inside my boots.
“Where are you hiding, trouble maker?!” Pixie boomed, her echo carrying over my head and breaking sweat drops down the side of my temple. I poked my head out an inch, realizing that she was packing on armor.
But not just any armor—she was an earth fae.
Rock and clay tacked on in layers over her bulging biceps and her tight chest, the sheath firm along her body. The crevices and gaps along her armor began to fill up with a shiny blue material I assumed was some type of crystal hardening her shield. Whatever this crystal was had a smaller ratio to the stone and rock she enveloped herself in; the source surging around her feet was probably limited with the earthly material.
While I was fortunate for that fact, her lack of tougher earthly material didn't make me feel any better. She was still damn near invincible! The plan was not to engage with her at all costs. But she flexed her fists and stood a warrior stance, that smirk on her face begging me to come out and play.
“Please, make yourself known. I promise to leave enough of you for the vultures and the piggies!”
“I’m sorry,” Maxi said in a quiet and jagged, terrified voice. She brought her hands to her lips as tears streamed down her red cheeks. “I wish I could help.”
“Cut it out, you’re injured,” I whispered back to her. “I’ll get the both of you out of here. I just need to find a cut to take that’s safe enough to thwart them.”
“I’m only slowing you down. Save my husband,” she pleaded, her request making my blood run cold. “Look at me, I’m not going to last any longer in this state.” Her face was pale like a bed sheet, her eyes sunken and her skin thin. But I wasn’t going to lose hope on Maxi.
I pressed my back against the tree and bit the inside of my lip, holding my breath in and thinking about this shit carefully. Two against one, where the one had two people to keep alive. I was fucked, severely fucked. I had a path to my left and a path to my right, with a wind elemental fae who could slice me up with the snap of her finger.
Shit, what have I gotten us into?
“Lan, look for him!”
“Mhm!” Lanette’s feet crunched against the leaves and the twigs on the ground, her steps getting closer by the second.
She had a general idea of where I was already, so it was now or never…
My heart was pounding so hard I could feel the blood rushing in my ears. I had to suppress the urge to pull out my cyber gear to escape this fight. Cyberware was stronger in terms of chopping down HP fast according to Madeem, opposed to the average brute strength of orcs and the majority of fae magic. That being said, a level one skillset off a gear would pack more of a punch than a level one skillset of any other race. It wasn’t bias, it was fairness. Because the other races had so many other wild cards that humans had to deal with on a regular basis. It was only right the dungeon core tried to even out the scale.
Though, I’d shoot myself big time if I brought my exoskeleton out prematurely. So truthfully, there was only one option left…
I closed my eyes and let out a deep calm sigh. Stick it out for as long as I can, that was the plan. Long enough for them to run to safety. That way Maxi could heal herself and her husband.
Inside, I laughed at the idea—it was suicidal. I wasn’t sure if I was an idiot for jumping in to help without question, like it was my duty to help fae. I guess then and there, all I saw was someone in need of help, and I had to act quickly. Selfless… fearless... Maybe this was why Alzera-Kar picked me, because no Senterrian in their right mind would put themselves in danger for fae.
I chuckled to myself—selfless… Not only a hero of Senterra, but a hero of her world.
“I need you to run, Maxi,” I whispered. “I know it’s a terrible time to ask, but I need you to carry your husband to safety.”
“What?”
“I will hold them off for as long as I can.” She looked up at me like I was out of my mind. Hell, maybe I was. But I knew this journey came with some tough ass decisions, and I’d already made up my mind.
I rolled her off my shoulder gently and then handed her two healing vials. I flicked my head for her to leave and let me handle it. “Get going, now. Get a head start.”
“Are you sure?”
