The Forsaken Hero

Luke hesitated, and I was gratified to see he was actually weighing my thoughts. It made sense he hadn’t picked up on the specific level of the defensive magic, though it did make me wonder just how much more he had missed. The Oracle of Eternity provided an almost overwhelming amount of information about magic. Without enough practice, it was nearly impossible for anyone to pick out the useful bits from the noise.

”I’m... not sure. I wasn’t aware those defenses were only seventh-circle, though I suppose that makes sense when you think about it,” he said, his brow furrowed in thought. ”If that’s the case, then...”

”Still no,” Jessia said, shaking her head. ”There’s no way anyone could survive that many mana cannons at once. Their range is good enough that the moment they find you, you’ll be blasted to smithereens.”

I frowned, tilting my head slightly. I had never considered mana cannons to be a threat. If anything, I’d actually been grateful the church’s development had focused on them, as it meant they didn’t have the resources to come up with something my abilities didn’t outright ignore. But were they really such a big problem to the Apostles?

It took everything I had to suppress the urge to open up and share with them about my power. But something must have shown on my face, because Jessia’s eyes narrowed at me. She was good at sniffing out secrets as she was hiding them. At the very least, because of her illusion, I knew it wasn’t my tail that had given me away this time.

”What is it?” she asked, though not unkindly.

My mind went blank, every excuse fleeing in an instant. Fortunately, it was at that moment I picked up a sense of approaching auras. It wasn’t quite right to say I was grateful, but I was certainly relieved. I wasted no time hiding behind Luke, grasping my mana and preparing for whatever this new danger was. Jessia frowned, opening her mouth to berate me for hiding information, but froze as she, too, sensed it.

”Damn it, why now?” Luke muttered. His hand slipped beneath the fold of his tunic, and from the way his arm tensed, it was obvious he was gripping a knife.

Several voices drifted from up the street, heralding the arrival of a small party. The pure white robes of the leader marked them as an inquisitor, a very high-ranking one judging by the sigil on their chest. The rest were fourth and fifth-circle soldiers, clad in full plate and wielding magic weapons.

A small, weaselly-looking man with two long knives stuck in his belt led them and spoke to the inquisitor.

”They vanished just a few minutes ago,” he reported. ”I couldn’t tell what killed them, but they are definitely dead.”

Our parties saw each other at the same time, and I shivered as the inquisitor’s eyes narrowed.

”Don’t worry, I think I figured it out,” the weasel-like man said, drawing his sword. Raising his voice, he addressed us directly. ”Halt! Identify yourselves!”

A quick glance at our trio showed our disguises were still intact, but judging from the hostility in the inquisitor’s voice, he had no doubt as to who had killed the two guards. It was strange they knew so quickly, but with the amount of magic blanketing the city, it was possible they had a spell that kept track of each of their soldiers. That would certainly be effective in keeping demons, who only knew how to kill, out.

Luke and Jessia wore hard expressions, mixed with reluctance. The inquisitor was only sixth-circle, but if we got involved in a fight here, our presence was guaranteed to be discovered, and the mission would be a failure. We still hadn’t had a chance to investigate the main keep and whatever secret weapons and characters they kept hidden there.

The soldiers drew their swords and advanced, the inquisitor glowing with sun magic. Several of them seemed to be mages and began chanting fourth-circle spells. Luke’s hand tightened on my shoulder, and Jessia tensed, marshaling their power. It seemed they decided that escape would be better than getting caught and risking our fabricated identities being exposed. If it came down to an interrogation, it was all but guaranteed I’d be unable to withstand their pressure, if I didn’t fall asleep first.

The thought of being caught by inquisitors again sent a shiver down my spine. Under normal circumstances, I could easily escape on my own, but the existence of Haven was too great an uncertainty. Either being detained or a frantic escape from the city both carried too high a risk of me losing control and letting a few remnants out before I managed to contain the darkness.

Driven by desperation, I shook off Luke’s hold and raised my hand, releasing the storm of mana I’d gathered unnoticed by either party. A dozen magic circles appeared around the soldiers, not individual runes, but completed spells, soulcast in an instant. Their cries of panic were abruptly cut off as each spell unleashed a tide of chaotic mana that chewed at their enchantments and souls, devouring everything weaker than my own.

”What the hell?” Jessia asked in a shocked whisper.

I could feel both hers and Luke’s eyes on me, but I shook off their gazes, casting another dozen Dispel Magics on the inquisitor, suppressing him through sheer force and speed rather than any sort of finesse. Unfortunately, while Dispel Magic was effective on the soldiers, the inquisitor’s soul was strong enough that the third-circle spells couldn’t totally suppress him. He looked like he was walking against a powerful current, but each step brought his sword closer toward me, his eyes glittering with malice. While a more powerful spell could have bound him entirely, that would draw far more attention than the few flashes of light of Dispel Magic.

”Kill him,” I said through gritted teeth, forcing as much mana through the limited spells as I could.

Jessia recovered in an instant, vanishing from beside me and stepping out of the shadows behind the inquisitor. She flinched as a few stray bolts of chaotic mana attacked her, but her soul was almost as strong as mine, leaving her mostly unaffected.

She moved so quickly my eyes couldn’t track her, her knife leaving a ribbon of darkness that passed through the inquisitor’s neck. It was a clean cut—too clean—and the man staggered forward another step before realizing he was dead.

Jessia vanished again, weaving between the unconscious soldiers and slitting their throats. One by one, they fell silent, their lifeblood staining the cobblestones.

”We have to leave. Now!” Luke said, grabbing my hand. ”They’ll be able to sense the residue and track us down, then–”

He paused as I waved the hand he wasn’t crushing in his grip and dispersed my mana into the air. In just a few seconds, it had become indistinguishable from the many enchantments lacing the city.

”...you can do that?” he muttered.

Luke’s grip on me loosened, and he took a breath before suddenly moving behind me. I felt a moment of confusion as his arm snaked around my back, the other curling beneath my legs, before I realized I’d collapsed. Overwhelming an inquisitor and an entire squad of high-level soldiers like that was more than my weakened body could handle, and my consciousness swam in and out of focus.

When I finally regained my bearings, I found myself cradled in Luke’s arms. I wanted to protest, to push him away, but the urge to sleep was too powerful. I felt only a fleeting twinge of embarrassment as I relaxed against him, resting my head on his shoulder.

”Damn it,” Luke cursed. ”I was hoping you’d last a little longer; we haven’t even gotten a look at the keep yet. Still, you’ve done enough.”

”I’m sorry I couldn’t do what you wanted me to,” I murmured sleepily.

”What do you mean? You did great,” he said, but he sounded strained. ”This was all we needed to do.”

”No, the real reason,” I mumbled. ”Why you wanted me alone, and...” I was about to press further, but a yawn interrupted me, and my train of thought derailed.

”Luke,” Jessia said pointedly. ”What do you mean she’s done? We talked about this.”

I felt him shift, a hint of guilt creeping into his voice. ”Jessia now’s not the time. Even if that would have worked, we can try something else. She doesn’t need to...”

I drifted out of consciousness momentarily, feeling only a fleeting pang of disappointment at missing whatever they were discussing.

When I managed to force myself back to awareness, I had drawn even closer to Luke, pulled to the warmth radiating from his soul. He wasn’t the same furnace as Fyren, but it filled me with a cozy, familiar feeling I couldn’t pull away from. It must have had something to do with our entanglement, but I felt safe in his arms. It was a foolish sentiment, a mistake to show so much vulnerability to him, but I couldn’t help it. I was too tired to even feel much embarrassment, though my face did warm at the feeling of both their eyes on me.

Jessia was speaking. ”...her range is about half a mile, I think. We should find an inn to hide her at before checking out the keep.”

”Good thinking,” Luke replied, quickening his pace. ”They might know we’re in the city, but because of her, they won’t know where. But I’m serious, don’t you dare bring it up to her.”

”Has a single night changed you that much?” she scoffed. ”It’s the only way.”

I didn’t completely lose consciousness again, but drifted in and out of a hazy sleep, catching glimpses of the city as we hurried through its darkened streets. I vaguely recalled snuggling closer to Luke’s warmth, my tail instinctively curling around his arm. Jessia muttered something about seeing something adorable, and Luke grunted in agreement, but I couldn’t focus my thoughts enough to figure out what they were talking about.

At some point, I opened my eyes to blurry slits and found us standing before an inn. There was a grumpy-looking middle-aged man with a woman peeking over his shoulder through a crack in the door. They both looked irritated, and the man was saying something about a curfew.

I missed whatever came next, as the next time I blinked my eyes open, Luke was gently prying me off of him, easing me into soft, downy sheets. Compared to the stiff cots I’d slept on for months, the mattress practically embraced me, and I barely noticed as he smoothed my hair out of my face, drawing the sheets up to cover me.

I blinked slowly, struggling to shake off the fog of sleep as Luke and Jessia gazed down at me, both seemingly on the verge of speaking. Jessia leaned forward, exchanging a pointed look with Luke. He shook his head, his expression darkening, but she merely smirked in response.

”Xiviyah,” she began, her voice surprisingly gentle as I focused on her face. Had I imagined that smirk? My thoughts were sluggish, making it difficult to be sure.

Luke’s expression grew even grimmer. ”Jessia, I already told you that—”

She silenced him with a sharp glare before turning back to me. ”I understand where Luke’s coming from,” she continued, her voice softening, ”and we didn’t want to tell you this, but as we passed through the common room, we overheard someone talking about your friends. It seems the Last Light Company has been branded as traitors and was recently engaged by a large army of the Church in a neighboring kingdom. It sounded like the Church won.”