Chapter 012:

Pain. Pain surged through Anton's mind, ripping him awake from his peaceful slumber. Adrenaline surged through his blood to his brain, forcing his eyes open.

An arm smacked him in the face. Thoughts of being murdered flooded his mind again. He reached out and grabbed the arm by the wrist.

It was soft and warm, but there was no strength trying to force it down. The fingers were trying to claw at something, but not his hand.

He looked along the arm to find its source. It was Verona, engaged in some sort of struggle with an invisible force. Arms and legs were flailing around, her breathing was ragged and body drenched in sweat.

“Hey!” Anton yelled, but got no reaction.

Sorry about this.

Not really knowing why he leaned over and slapped her hard on the face.

Her eyes shot open and swirled around.

Gasping for breath, she threw her covers off and tried to crawl frantically towards the wall. Anton still held her hand, bringing both of them very close. Her arm lost all strength as she curled closer to him. She breathed rapidly, eyes darting around the room. Sweat poured out of her face.

He let her arm go, which she brought into her chest.

A few moments passed and her breathing appeared to calm. Anton brought his hand over her head. For an instant she recoiled, but relaxed when she realized whose it was.

“Are you okay?” he asked, slowly stroking her hair.

“I had a crazy, terrifying dream,” she dragged herself up so her back rested against the wall, “There were skies made of fire, everyone I knew was burning and melting around me. And there was something at the centre of it all. They were untouched...and it stared straight at me. Then I woke up.”

She rubbed her face with her hands, suppressing a sniffle.

“You didn't have to hit me.”

She's probably right.

“I really didn't want you to injure yourself, you were getting pretty violent.”

She looked down at her side of the bed. Everything had been thrown about during her struggle.

“Hmm.”

Verona stretched both her arms and back. A whimper came out when she bent her back, bringing the fabric tight along her spine.

“I thought that would have been fixed by now.” Verona despondently commented on herself. “You used a lot of mana, and somehow it still did nothing.”

“Do you want to sleep in a bit more?”

“Absolutely not,” she said as she shook her head, “I do not want to have another fit again. Especially if I'm alone.”

She shuffled off the bed. Her gait looked a little off, but a few steps later she seemed to have recovered.

“I'm getting changed now, so...you know the drill.”

Anton did not have to say anything. They both dressed in silence.

After they were done, he realized that it quite late in the morning. Someone from the council should have gotten him but he had not heard anything.

“Don't forget your armour.” Anton said, turning to Verona, “It's a good precaution.”

“Then you need to help me with the chest piece then.”

They quickly got dressed and ready for the next day.

---[]---

The Council meeting was well under way by the time they arrived.

When he opened the door he saw that everyone already had arrived. They stopped talking and looked straight at him.

“'Bout time you two got here.” Jeff blurted out. “We were getting worried that, on day two of this thing, you had already given up and decided to sleep in.”

The others smiled.

“I have no idea how you wake up so early so consistently,” Anton replied.

“Lots of practice,” Jeff said as he leaned back into his chair.

“Well, is there anything critical that I missed?”

Bertram shook his head.

“Actually very little. No movement from the south or north. Construction of defences and weapons are going at faster than expected. We're doing quite well.”

“That's excellent then,” Anton said as he took his seat.

“Zac and Jonathan actually were in the middle of discussing one of the objects found during the scouting mission,” Bertram explained.

Zac unfolded his arms.

“To the south-east, there's a group of towers. If I'm right, they're Obsidian Towers. Not sure what they really are, whether they are actually made from obsidian or not, but the pieces should be extremely strong. Since you seem to be our resident scavenger, I wanted you to get some pieces.”

Zac looked towards Jonathan.

“We'll use it for the wall and armour, if we can make it work.” Zac continued. Jonathan appeared to agree with this idea.

“I think I've got my job for the day. I'll need to borrow some soldiers and a cart then.”

“I'll get some ready then,” Jeff said. “I heard about the Thumper the other day. That's why we go out in groups.”

“Anything else?” Anton asked.

“We have seen a single Yellow Goblin on the fourth ridge towards the mountain. It just watched for a little while and ran away when it noticed we were watching it as well.”

Anton frowned. He suspected that this would happen eventually, the Yellow Goblins scouting the area, but it still did not make him feel good.

“Well,” Anton moved in his seat, “we knew that it would happen eventually. If it's just the one, it looks like they're quite scared of what happened here, but not going to give up.”

“Just wait them out for now?” Jeff asked.

“I'm afraid so. It shouldn't be much longer now.”

Bertram coughed lightly to gain attention. “By the way, Anton, thank-you for getting the herbs. Most of the people are now well on the mend. We've got almost a seasons worth stored, even in the event of an all-out war.”

“It's not a problem.” Anton replied, “Let's get this day under-way then.”

The others did not seem so enthusiastic.

---[]---

Half an hour later the expedition was ready. A single cart, with a driver and six heavily armed villagers, four male and two female, would accompany Anton and Verona.

The villagers seemed a little nervous. For most of them, it would be the first time they had left the village in their whole lives.

Jeff and Zac were there as well, trying their best to placate the villagers, with varying degrees of success.

Zac turned away from the villagers and walked over to Anton.

“You sure about this whole thing?” Zac asked. “I didn't actually know if you wanted to do this.”

“You seemed pretty enthusiastic in the meeting.”

Zac shrugged. “I've had a bit more time to think it over.”

“So it's not worth it?”

“Oh no, it is,” A smile returning to his face, “It's not as strong as metals like Adamantian, but for something that can be found just lying on the ground, it should be pretty good.”

“So why the change?” Verona asked, “If you thought it was so good.”

Zac scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

“Well, bodies of water are not the safest place, even if they look beautiful.”

“So, what am I expecting?”

“Um...not really sure. I know that you're not meant to go too close, not for anything like a swim. Strong boats are fine. That's why we need to use wells for water.”

“I'll keep an eye out,” Anton replied. The fact there might be monsters crawling out of the water was not a pleasant one.

“Well, good luck. I've got to get back to work.”

Zac held out his hand, which Anton shook. He turned and walked away. Verona turned to Anton and grabbed his arm.

“I'm sure it'll be fine,” he said, patting her hand.

Jeff had just finished talking with the other villagers. They started to load themselves onto the cart.

“Looks like it's time to go.” Anton turned and got onto the back of the cart.

Verona tried, but she could not pull herself up. Her face scrunched in pain, and it looked like her back still sore. The nightmare had probably taken her mind off her pain, at least until now.

He hopped down and lifted her up, underneath her arms and onto the cart. Her faced flushed as some of the other villagers started whistling. All smiled inanely as Anton climbed back on. He said nothing.

Verona and the other villagers sat down while Anton stood.

The cart groaned as the Ix beast was finally ordered to move. It jeered and bumped as it slowly made its way over the stone and dirt road. Anton did not look forward to how it would feel out on the open and uneven grassland.

“Hey, Anton.”

Anton looked down to his right, Jeff was walking alongside them.

“Just finished talking to one of the scouts that covered that area. You should get there, at your current speed, just after mid-day.”

They both looked towards the slow lumbering beast.

“Can this thing go any faster?” Anton asked the driver.

The driver looked back at him with a massive, toothy grin.

“Sure!” the man chuckled, “Just hope you haven't had anything to eat yet.”

“Why-?”

The driver whipped the reigns furiously, the beast let out a tremendous roar. The entire cart lurched forward, Anton falling backwards and landing on a female villager. His head landing backwards into her chest.

“Bloody hell. Sorry about that.”

“Oh, easy does it now.” the woman said teasingly as she helped him back up. Contact between the two did last some time, as the woman brushed him down as he stood up.

“Play nice Anton!” Jeff yelled, now running alongside but dropping back quickly.

Jeff dropped to a walk, waving them off along with several other villagers.

Anton sat down next to Verona. She seemed a little annoyed but relaxed and smiled as he sat.

The cart continued to creak and groan, occasionally hitting a large dip in the ground and flinging the passengers around. The villagers did not look happy, especially knowing that they would have to endure a few more hours. Worse yet, it had only been a few minutes.

Anton was already regretting his decision. He still had the strange layers of flesh harvested from the Alpha Thumper to look into. That would have been far more interesting.

I just hope I still have my stomach when we get there.

---[]---

“Oh my God!” Verona blurted out as she threw up once again. She and everyone else, including Anton's, were leaning over the stationary cart. He had no idea that he could get so violently ill from the rough ride.

The cart had arrived a hundred meters from the shore of the lake, but Anton did not care. He also did not care that they appeared to be over an hour early. The only thing on his mind was trying to get his body back in working condition.

The driver, annoyingly, seemed completely fine. The moment they stopped he, and he alone, hoped off the beast and took the time to enjoy the scenery.

“That is truly beautiful, isn't it?” the driver asked.

Anton tried to make a meaningful response but only gave a dreary groan. He turned the prayer power into himself and took the edge off the nausea. It took quite a bit of mana to help everyone else, Verona even more so. By the time she started to look better, he had used almost a fifth of his mana on her alone.

Can someone become immune to magic, like resistance to a drug? I certainly hope not.

The thought was not pleasant, considering how often he had to use mana on himself. Since it was only Verona that appeared to be suffering, he suspected that it was not the case. It did not help him figure out what was happening to her. The idea of a mana based illness started to float through his mind.

Gods? Please give me something. Some advice, guidance, anything.

He was not surprised when nothing came.

The villagers had recovered and made their way to the driver. Verona still looked a little groggy, so she accepted Anton's help getting her down. Her mouth opened to say something, but it dropped as she looked towards the lake.

Words failed him. Ever since arriving he had seen the inside of poor wooden buildings, dirt, stone, blood and death. Only a few days had made him yearn for something so bright.

The lake extended for as far as he could see, Clear crystal blue water slowly washed over the golden sand. The beach stretched around the entire lake, as far as he could see.

In the centre, several kilometres away, stood the Obsidian Towers. They were several hundred meters tall and dark brown, contrasting brilliantly with the light water. The towers themselves were not straight, they looked like tiles that had been badly laid on-top of one another.

There were twelve standing, with another six that looked like they had fallen over into the water. Between the ones that still stood there appeared to be some sort of bridge, made from the same material as the pillars. The pillars next to the ones that had fallen down had short stumps where the bridges had been. He had no idea if it was natural or artificial.

Near the shoreline, there were large dark-brown rocks. They appeared to be flat and completely smooth, judging by the way the light shone and the water ran off. That must be what he was sent to get.

“Truly beautiful,” Anton said. “Alright, two of you stay here and guard the cart.”

“What about me?” the driver asked.

“You too. Just stay with that terrifying beast and make sure it's ready for the trip back.”

The driver saluted, dashing back to the Ix and stroking its face. The beast calmed down and began to eat the grass. He turned to Anton and gave him the thumbs up. Apparently, he knew what he was doing.

“The rest of us, we'll start collecting those stone shards. And be careful near the water's edge, I don't want to have to deal with any nasties that crawl out.”

There was some argument amongst the villagers on who would stay. Eventually, the two women were elected to stay and guard. The other four quickly ran towards the sand, all seeming quite excited.

Anton turned to Verona. Her mouth was still agape at the sight of so much water. Noticing that he was watching, she closed her mouth and tried to not look interested.

“It's...I've never seen so much water in my whole life. So blue.” her voice trailed off at the end.

“It's not going to come to you, you know,” Anton said as he grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to the beach. He was sure that she said something but did not ask.

The moment her bare feet touched the sand she stopped, pulling her hand free. Her toes wiggled, letting the sand permeate over her feet.

She giggled something that he never thought he would hear from her, and started skipping through the sand. Great plumes of wet sand flew with every step, some landing on Anton.

“Sorry,” she sputtered, running up to him, “This is awesome!”

Verona's foot clipped the edge of a rock, causing her to tumbled towards him. He held out his arms and caught her loosely, her head thumping softly into his chest.

“Are you two going to help or just flirt?” One of the men yelled out. He and another villager had already started to collect the brown shards. There were some snickers amongst the others.

Both flushed in embarrassment, letting go of each other and giving awkward smiles.

Near where they stood was a large piece of the stone. He motioned for Verona to grab the other side. The edges were quite sharp but not enough to cut through the skin. What was the most surprising was the weight, it felt unbelievably heavy. Anton had to put quite a bit of force to lift, Verona looking just as surprised as he was. He was sure that her smaller frame and body would have trouble, but she appeared to be doing better than Anton.

The surface of the stone, on all sides, was completely devoid of the feature. When the light struck it at a low angle, small dark swirls emerged covering the entire slab.

Once they got it back to the cart, having to stop several times to get a better grip, Anton got the knife from Verona. He tried to cut into the stone but no matter how hard he tried it could not be damaged. Tiny flakes of metal had been left on the slab, transference from the blade.

“They look tough,” Verona commented.

“No wonder Zac wanted these. A bit heavier than I thought.”

Verona pulled Anton to the side as a pair of villagers loaded another slab.

“How are they going to use it?” Verona asked. “You can't cut it or scratch it like a normal stone.”

Anton shrugged. “Perhaps they'll just smash it to little pieces or just use them as is.”

She seemed to take that as a sufficient answer, moving back towards the beach.

Together they all loaded the cart until it started to sink into the dirt, almost a third full

“I think that'll do,” Anton told the others. Everyone looked quite pleased despite their tiredness. Under an hour had passed but the pieces had been quite heavy.

The driver looked around, increasingly worried.

“We should go as soon as we can.” the driver said. His usual demeanour had changed, now he looked quite afraid.

“What's wrong?” one of the female villagers asked.

The driver pointed at the Ix. Its head was darting left to right, breathing heavily and stomping its front hooves.

“They usually don't do this.” the driver explained. “Only when scared shitless.”

Anton did not wait to hear what would make the beast so scared. He hopped onto the cart and scanned the surroundings.

He could not immediately see anything.

A subtle but sharp smell filled his nose, the smell of rotting flesh.

The wind is coming from the south, so...

He turned, and so did the others. The grass to the south was quite tall, almost a meter high in some places. As the wind blew, so did the grass. There may have been something moving amongst them but it was impossible to tell.

The others encircled the cart, focusing their attention to the south.

Slowly, the wind died down. Most of the grass stopped, but some pieces move for a moment before stopping.

“Is there something there?” Verona asked.

“Maybe.”

“Can't you just set fire to it?” the driver asked, placing himself in front of the still panicking Ix.

Anton shook his head. “I'll probably set fire to everything else.”

He waited and watched. The wind did not pick up again but eventually, the grass started to move.

Grey masses started to accompany the movements. There were dozens of grey blobs moving through the grass towards them.

Oh no...

For a terrifying moment he thought that they were Thumpers, but they were too small.

As the grass thinned out, it became clear it was far worse. Pointed ears, snouts and bared teeth began to emerge.

They were wolves, about a meter tall and two long. The tips of their ears were white, and their eyes were a toxic green. Otherwise, they were identical to the ones he knew about on Earth.

Their heads and body slinked low as they emerged from the grass, shoulders exaggerated by their slow and calculated movements. Dozens emerged from the grass, all snarling and snapping as they began to fan out and encircle them.

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A villager whimpered at the sight, the faint smell of urine permeated the air.

Anton stepped down and walked towards the terrified villager. He placed his hand on the villager's shoulder.

“It's okay. Just breath as best you can.” The villager shook, presumably not having taken a breath for some time.

He appeared to calm down. Thankfully none of the others had pointed it out. If there was a later they probably would. It was just a case of making sure there was one.

Anton felt his heart begin to race. He did not want to see those teeth anywhere near him.

“Grey wolves.” The driver muttered.

“How many?” Verona asked, the pack continuing to leave the cover of the long grass.

“A little under thirty I guess.” Anton replied, “I had no idea packs could get this big.”

“You should have seen them before they were culled all those years ago.” the driver added, seemingly recovering some of his confidence, though Anton could not figure out why.

The pack had spread out into a crescent formation, slowly advancing. None seemed willing to be the first one to attack. Occasionally the glint from the villager's weapons would pierce their eyes. For a moment they would snarl louder and take a step back, but only a step before continue to advance.

Anton prepared the lightning, letting it bubble in his hands.

“I'll use as many lightning bolts as I can, then follow up with the lightning bombs. Everyone, just take care of any that make it through.”

The other villagers nodded and readied their weapons, the grey wolves halting their advance as if they could sense the hostility.

Verona did not look like she was worried, her spear was still upright.

“Are you ready?” Anton asked her.

Verona lowered her spear and charged. The grey wolves looked confused, for only a moment, before charging themselves.

“Wh-” was all that Anton could manage to say.

What is wrong with her?

Anton fired lightning bolts at the grey wolves either side of Verona. It was not an accurate art, many striking the ground, with multiple bolts striking the same beast. Their bodies twitched as the bolt struck their bodies. The next moment they crumpled forward dead.

He only managed to hit a dozen, leaving almost twenty still running at Verona. The rest converged on Verona, her body making aiming accurately extremely difficult.

Verona had not appeared to have noticed. The closest wolf, straight in front, lunged at her. She raised her spear, stabbing through its mouth and out its skull. Two more came from either side. Her head did not move as she turned the spear lengthways, the impaled wolf coming loose, its dead body colliding with another. The spear tip sliced open the wolf on the right while the other's jaw was ripped apart by the shaft colliding with it.

Anton and the villagers watched on stunned. She crouched low, missing a wolf diving over her head but nipping and ripping at her hair. She brought her spear forward and thrust, killing another attacking wolf.

A few tried to encircle her, forgetting about the other humans, and attacked. She rolled forward and spun the spear over her head, the tip slicing but not killing the attackers. Blood sprayed everywhere from the recoiling wolves, dying her and the grass crimson red.

The uninjured wolves stopped, as they watched their fellow beasts writhing and whimpering in pain. Each began to slowly back away from Verona, forming and opening a path towards the tall grass.

Another wolf emerged. This one was nearly twice as large and covered in scars, part of its nose was missing. As it fully emerged the others started to slink back even further. A pack leader.

Verona glanced either side, just enough for Anton to see a bloody and crazed smile.

He started to move sideways so he could get a clear line of sight. The smaller wolves noticed and moved behind Verona. Anton had not practised with trying to turn the lightning bombs as he flung them. Now was not the time to find out if he could.

Some sort of honourable code perhaps? Letting the boss attack uninterrupted, after having lost so many. We've got to do something though.

Anton nudged the closest villagers, seemingly understanding his intentions straight away.

Verona stood up and put out her hand to tell them to stop.

A smaller wolf took the opportunity to attack, her head twitching towards it at the sound of it leaping. She spun her spear around. The end collided with the head of the wolf and sent it flying. The squirming and dying body landed at the base of the pack leader.

The pack leader snarled and rolled the wolf out of its way. Apparently, it wanted to have a fair fight with Verona.

Everyone and everything gave a wide berth of the two squaring off, Verona standing motionless in the puddle of blood and trodden grass while the pack leader closed in.

Something still felt off to him, as if it was not Verona that was fighting the giant wolf by herself. Despite everything, she seemed extremely confident.

The pack leader stopped a few meters from her and refused to get closer. Apparently, it had learned from the others and kept its distance.

Verona lowered her spear, resting the tip on the ground. She turned the tip and dug it into the ground. The pack leader and the other wolves glanced at the spear tip.

She twisted the spear, collecting some sandy dirt and grass on the blade, flicking it at the pack leader. The dirt landed in its eyes, the pack leader recoiling and shaking its head. Verona did not wait. She ran as fast as she could straight at it and pointed her spear at its head.

The wolf saw and tried to duck, the spear smashed into the top of the skull. Blood and fragments of fur flew into the air. The pack leader howled, twisting its head sideways and grabbing the spears' shaft with its teeth.

It pulled down as hard is it could. Verona grunted in annoyance, digging her feet into the ground and refusing to let the spear move. The pack leader pulled and twisted on the spear, but Verona did not budge. It glanced at the other wolves and shook its head at Verona. None appeared willing.

Verona saw this and ripped her spear out of the wolves mouth. She turned the spear around, taking a giant lung forward and bringing the end cracking into the nuzzle of the stunned pack leader. The nose crumpled and the wolf recoiled several steps as it yelped in pain.

She lunged again, striking it in the chest. The wolf spluttered and ripped itself free. Blood seeped from the wound in its chest and dyed its fur red.

It staggered for a few steps, crumpling onto its front paws. Verona ran and leapt into the air to bring down her spear on its head. The wolf dived away just as the spear touched its neck, Verona impaling the spear into the dirt.

She reached into her waist, bringing out the knife and threw it at its head. The knife dug into its cheek, the pack leader yelping in pain. The other wolves backed off even further.

The pack leader noticed this and leapt again, the wounds beginning to take effect on its movements. She rolled to the side, bending and ripping the spear from the ground. With all the strength she could muster, she spun around and sliced the back of its head.

The wolf fell lifelessly onto the ground. Half of its face and neck had been torn apart. Verona retracted her spear and with, savage brutality, repeatedly and furiously stabbed the remaining half until it broke.

Everyone and everything looked on, stunned by what they saw.

Anton saw and felt something different. He was sure that the air was different around her, like it was all happening in slow motion. Some of the droplets of blood appeared to slowly spin and hover around her just above the grass.

Verona stepped forward and kicked the severed head towards the stunned wolves. She continued to remain quiet until she turned and growled at the remaining wolves.

With the pack leader dead, its head and body separated and its killer about to attack them, the others panicked and fled. They yelped and dived back into the long grass.

Within moments they had disappeared, as though they had never existed, only leaving bloody corpses strewn around the red and silver girl.

Anton and the others glanced at each other. He was the first one to move forward.

“Are...are you okay?” he asked gingerly.

He honestly expected to be attacked, verbally or otherwise, for being as effective as a statue. Instead, she turned and faced him, wearing what he could only describe as a serial killer's smile.

That did not frighten him.

It was her eyes. Gone was the brilliant blue. Now it was red. Red, just like the blood that was dripping from her face.

Anton felt his hand clench on reflex. He never thought he would see something like that again.

As her eyes made contact with him the killer smile faded to her usual grin. A moment later the red in her eyes faded from the outside in, like an ink blot being sucked up by a pen. The blood dropped onto the grass.

“How was that?” she asked, cheerfully running towards him, “I-”

Anton grabbed her by the shoulders as soon as he could. She yelped in pain and bowed her head, nearly dropping her spear. He said nothing and waited for her to look at him. Eventually she did, though with trepidation.

“What on earth compelled you to do that?” he asked somewhat angrily, “You knew that I can use magic-”

“I-”

“And if you say that you thought that I could not, because of the other day...”

He felt the anger dissipate. He could not hold it against her. It looked like her actions were somewhat beyond her control, and she had fought them off without a scratch. Verona relaxed as well. She glanced at her shoulders as he released his grip.

“That was not a pleasant thing to watch. I was very worried.”

Verona smiled.

“I know you were worried. To be honest, so was I. But...,” she shook her head and looked towards the sky, “I don't know. It was like something was guiding my actions. Like I was just watching myself.”

Things started to move within Anton's mind.

He had a suspicion, but he did not want everyone else to hear what he had to say.

Anton knelt down, Verona eyes locking with his. He used his right hand to pry apart her eyelids, checking for any remains of the redness. Despite his frantic searching he found nothing.

“Do your eyes hurt?”

“No. Why?” Verona replied, quite concerned.

“They were bright red, like you were bleeding.”

She rubbed under both her eyes with her hands, checking them for blood.

“Do you feel anything strange?” Anton asked.

Verona was quiet for some time. “I feel fine, I suppose. A bit tired and sore, but otherwise fine.”

Anton sighed in relief.

It looked like she used magic when she killed that wolf. The way the colour faded from her eyes, it cannot be anything else. Did she manage to make a contract with a god? Or a demon?

“That's good. Later, if it's alright with you, I would like to have a thorough check-up when we get back. Just to make sure that everything's okay.”

Verona nodded, a warm smile quickly covering her face. It changed as she leant on one side to look behind him.

The other villagers and the driver looked towards the pair. Anton felt their piercing and questioning gazes and felt quite uncomfortable. He stood up and coughed loudly to get their attention.

“Driver! Are there any monsters in the water?”

Anton's shout shook the driver back to the present.

“Um. Yes. There are some types of fish that hunt near the shoreline. After that fight, they've probably come here to feed. What was with her anyway?”

He glared at the driver, who seemed to get the message.

Anton walked to the edge of the water, summoning five chained lightning bombs and flung them into the lake. The moment the middle lightning bomb touched the water it exploded, each successive bomb exploding larger and larger.

Water, thrown up in the explosion, rained down upon them. Everyone looked strangely at Anton, who did not respond.

Bubbles emerged from the water, quickly followed by large striped fish. They rolled onto their side, their mouths twitching wildly.

“What did you do?” Verona asked as she moved closer to him. Some of the blood had been washed away by the spray, but not enough to truly notice.

“Just another test. I haven't been able to test lightning with water safely.” He pointed out towards the stunned fish. “Now I know that it can travel through water and stun creatures.”

She cocked her head, furrowing her eyebrows in thought.

“But when you rescued those people, before...well, you know. Anyway, you knew that then, didn't you? Not that you should if you lost your memories....” Verona began rubbing her chin, the wolf blood starting to congeal.

Shit. Need to change the direction.

“Well,” Anton began scratching the back of his head, “There is also confirming that, and tethering the lightning bombs. But there is something more important now, especially now that everything has been paralyzed.”

“What?”

Without waiting for her to answer, he picked her up under her legs and back.

“Wh-” was all that she could manage, her skin turning red as she squirmed in his arms.

He walked into the water, continuing to wade until it was almost up to his knees. She looked at the water then up at him.

“You utter!-” Verona shouted.

She was unable to finish her outburst as he threw her far into the water, her body disappearing in a gigantic splash. A moment she emerged from underneath the water, the blood mostly gone but having been replaced by a look so fierce it could curdle blood.

“Bastard!” she yelled after a pause.

Her eyes looked around at the water around her, raising her arms to get a better look. The water made her thick clothes stick to her form, hinting at some alluring proportions.

“Oh.”

There was another pause. The blood was beginning to dissolve into the water and out of her clothes, though some had already stained.

“You could have just said so!”

Anton could not help but laugh.

“True. But this was more fun.”

It did not seem enough for Verona, who remained sitting in the water. He waded deeper into the water until he reached his hand out.

In an instant, she had grabbed his hand and pulled down, with a force he thought should not be possible from her. The next moment the water and sand was in his face. An arm came into his vision and helped him up.

He coughed violently before rolling and sitting upright, putting his hands behind his back to keep himself upright.

Verona punched him, hard, in the arm. Hard enough that Anton began to rub it reflexively. She brought her arm around Anton's shoulder, drawing herself closer and leaning into his ear.

“We're not even yet,” she whispered.

As he turned towards her, she brought her other hand up and wrapped it around his face. She pulled him into a strange embrace before kissing him hard on the lips. They remained locked for some time. Anton's mind was both equally stunned and going into hysterics. It was still the most intense and passionate thing he had felt for some time.

When they finally broke, both their faces were scarlet red. Verona was the first to react, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Somehow, that made Anton feel a little disappointed.

“Why?” was all that Anton could weakly say.

“My heart was racing after that fight. It still is, but different now. Something told me I should do this.”

“That-”

Without answering she punched him repeatedly in the chest, though with little force.

“That was for doubting me. That was for grabbing me on the shoulder.”

Each point was ended with a light thump.

“That was for throwing me in the water. That was for not asking first.”

She took a deep breath and hit him quite hard in the ribs.

As Anton covered his chest and raised his arm to defend himself properly, she grabbed his arm and held it firmly.

“And that first thing was holding me the whole night.”

I knew that I moved about during my sleep, but I didn't think it was that bad. Maybe that's why my arms felt weird.

“I thought I told you to say something. And when was that? You were thrashing about when woke for the first time.”

She shrugged as she slowly stood, motioning for him to as well. “I woke up in the middle of the night, had to try and pry you off. I got there.”

“Anyway, that first one wasn't pulling you in the water, it-”

“I know what it was,” Anton replied, chuckling and rubbing her head vigorously.

They both calmed down and looked towards the cart. The other villagers were watching, most quite smugly, while the driver looked as if he was trying to hold back a torrent of laughter.

“Want to come for a swim!?” Anton loudly asked. “Waters nice and cool.”

The villagers took his suggestion seriously, quickly forming a huddle.

Verona looked questioningly at Anton. She let go of her arm but remained quite close.

“Is it safe?” one of the female villagers asked.

Anton looked behind him. The fish appeared to be on the verge of recovery. Some looked as if they were about to dive back down into the water. He summoned five tethered lightning bombs and threw them at the fish, stunning them once again. This time many smaller ones also rose, though none appeared to move at all.

Oh, well that worked, I suppose. This lake is massive. Let's hope it doesn't make to much of an impact on their numbers.

The villagers looked quite pleased by this as they ran towards the water. They seemed hesitant to actually enter, the fears that Zac had about water must have been truly ingrained upon all the villagers. Eventually one of the men charged forth, the rest soon following.

Anton noticed the driver had not decided to leave. He tried to wave him over, but the driver shook his head.

“I'll just wait here with the old girl. Make sure she's safe.”

“So that's a she then?” Anton asked aloud. He turned to the other villagers playing and splashing with each-other in the brilliant blue lake, already seemingly forgotten the perils of the water.

Verona tugged at his sleeve, gesturing towards the others.

“Alright, just a few minutes then.”

But she did not go. He quickly realized that she was waiting for him.

Well, I guess I could play for a little bit. Haven't had much time for that.

Anton picked Verona up and threw her in again, her joyful screams and the laughter of the villagers joining with the sound of the water washing over the sand.