Chapter 112:

Verona sighed loudly as she leant backwards. Her hands, free from the restriction of her leather gloves, dug into the cool grass behind her and prevented her from falling further. She, Kal and Luna sat in the slim shade of one of Atros's inner walls as they watched Anton and the new Glyph users receive some much-needed training. Luna dozed at Verona’s side, every few breaths elicited a tiny and soft squeak.

"Shouldn't you be there as well?" Verona turned to Kal, sitting with her legs crossed and back straight unlike the slovenly Verona.

"Shouldn't you?" Kal asked back softly.

"Nah." Verona gripped the grass tight as she leant back further, turning her head to Kal. "My magic and yours is so different. There's nothing I can learn from this."

"And their magic is different to mine as well." Kal flicked her tail. "Though I can't say I don't want lessons."

"Yeah...Who would have guessed the type of people that were going to receive those powers, huh?"

Kal chuckled as she looked to the six people gathered in front of Anton. Shawn and Jocelyn were easy to spot, they were really still children even if they were skilled enough to make simple pieces of armour. The other four comprised of a young girl, one Verona recognized from before Anton arrived and slightly younger than herself, a middle-aged man and woman and an elderly man. Verona smirked remembering Anton's expression when they had assembled before him.

"I would have been shocked by who came before me as well."

"What did you say?" Kal frowned lightly at her.

Verona waved her down. "It's nothing. I was just remembering Anton's face when they all turned up at once."

Kal chuckled as her tail coiled in her lap. The six people in front of Anton held their hands out, a few had flickering balls of lightning and fire while Shawn and Jocelyn were able to keep theirs steady. It helped they had already been shown and had fought against the Goblins.

"Hey Kal?" Verona shuffled closer to the stunning half breed. Kal frowned but said nothing as her tail coiled itself tighter in her lap. "Can I play with your tail?"

Kal stared at her, the beautiful green eyes piercing her own before the tiniest hint of a smile eked onto her face. "No."

"Why not?" Verona tried a lazy swipe but Kal blocked her with an elbow. Verona pouted. "You let Anton touch it whenever he wants, which is a lot."

"Because..." Kal frowned as she blocked another attempt. "Because I know, with you, it's not going to stop there."

"And?"

"And once you get your hands onto someone it's difficult to get you off."

"Just let me pat the end." Verona pleaded. "I won't go any further. I promise."

"You've broken that promise before," Kal said softly.

"And, again, so has Anton."

"That's..." Kal flushed as she looked forward. "That's different."

Verona took advantage of Kal's momentary lapse in judgement and grabbed her tail. Kal yelped as Verona's hands snaked along her tail and held the fan end. Kal pouted as she looked at Verona, sighed and gave her most of her tail. Verona squealed in delight as she rubbed the soft fur on her cheek and twirled the three fan ends between her fingers. Kal was enjoying it too, not that she would ever admit that to anyone but Anton.

"You know, I've been thinking-"

"I've sure Anton would call that dangerous," Kal said slyly.

"Hey, last time I thought of something you ended up with Anton and me. So don't knock it, alright?"

Kal's tail stiffened as she curled her body into a ball.

Whoops. A bit too far I think.

"I'm just teasing you, Kal." Verona gently rubbed her shoulder. Kal quickly returned to normal. "But I am being serious here. I’ve been thinking a bit more and…What do you really want to do?" Kal frowned at her. "I mean, what do you really want to do now? Your mother is safe and so is our home..."

"I'll do what I said before. I'll follow Anton. He has a plan to see the Beast-kin freed and I intend to see it through."

"Right. I just wanted to know what you thought...Without Anton beside you."

Kal nodded, understanding what she meant. "Marion is safe, something I never thought would happen or even be possible. But...I do have some doubts at times. I...I would like to keep travelling and exploring, even when I was on my own it was pretty fun, sometimes, but I would also like to settle down a bit. I mean, how long have we actually spent in Atros?"

"All of us together? Probably under six days or something." Verona released Kal's tail as she stretched her arms. "But I hear what you're saying. If it weren't for those Demons we wouldn't have to be rushing all the time. Actually spend some time and relax."

A cry came from the new mages. One of the new mages held a small but steady lightning bomb above their hands. Anton was trying his best to make sure the wielder calmed themselves down lest they lose control. Verona knew the damage one small sphere could do. It was one of Anton's standard attacks after all.

"But..." Verona broke their silence as she began playing with Kal's tail again. "But if things have gone the way I hope they have we might not have a choice but to slow down a bit." Kal looked at her as Verona rubbed her stomach. "We've probably got one more adventure in us before we have to stop."

Kal laughed. "Anton isn't going to let us fight while we're pregnant."

Verona imagined the scene; both she and Kal pregnant, their bellies swollen and wielding their magic, fighting against hordes of enemies. Very strange. Verona laughed aloud as she brushed the image aside.

"But in all seriousness," Verona continued. "If we keep fighting like we have been I'm sure it'll hurt them. Anton said it's a very stressful time."

"For everyone involved," Kal added. "Does that mean Anton's going to have to keep going on adventures without us?"

"Yep. I think so. Atros is only going to grow really slowly without someone going out and getting more stuff and people."

"Oh..."

"What are you thinking?" Verona slinked up Kal's side and rested her heads on her shoulder.

"Well...We won't be there."

"Yeah..."

"Even at night."

"Yeah..."

"So what's he going to do for...You know? Nightly stuff."

"Not just the night-time stuff, right? But I'm working on that." Verona playfully nuzzled into her shoulder. "Don't you worry about that."

"You're still serious about that."

Verona righted herself and nodded furiously. "Absolutely. Anton, one day very soon, is going to be the ruler of something more powerful than the Kingdoms and Empires that surround us. He's going to need all the help and support he can get. In every sense you can think of. And..."

Verona looked around to make sure no one could hear. The nearest person was a disinterested guard on top of the wall, but he was very far away.

"And, and I'm trying to think about the future here, but there is a good chance that someone close to him will try to kill him one day."

"What? Why?"

Verona scoffed. "Why?" She looked at Kal's tail and her hands.

"Oh." Kal curled up slightly. "I understand."

"It might not be that." Verona sat next to her so their shoulders touched. "Say...Say if we do go into Bebbezzar, and find Cetina's old home, and we end up getting involved in that mess, there's a good chance that we're going to piss someone off. And there are meant to be a lot of rich people there."

"And they could wait for ages before trying something..." Kal glanced at her. "And they might not do it themselves but pay someone else to do it."

"Or a lot of someones. And it could come from anywhere. A human upset with the Beastkin living here, a Beastkin upset with Anton, a human, being in charge, or with him sleeping with a half breed. Who knows? But...The more people that he has around him that are totally loyal the better. They can't be bought or bribed and they'll fight with everything they have to protect him."

"Okay. But how does this fit into your little plan-"

"Our plan, remember?" Verona leaned closer. "You were the one who made up The Rules anyway."

"Yes...And if it happens I want them to follow it."

"Damn right they will." Verona laughed as she slapped her thighs. "Besides, I'm not thinking of bringing some harlot or slut into Anton's harem just because they look pretty or are skilled with their tongue. That way we could have ended up with that witch bitch Sancha, or whatever that whores name really was. The only people that should even be considered to join are those that have total loyalty before even the thought of actually sleeping with him comes up. Kind of like you. You with your proclamation of I'll follow you to the depths of hell."

Kal flushed vividly. "Yeah. And you too."

Verona smiled. "Yeah. Kind of. But mine isn't as pure as yours." Verona wormed her fingers underneath Kal's armour. "Besides, what better way than to guarantee complete and total loyalty than have them scream out his name every night."

Verona reached around further and tickled her toned brown side. Kal squeaked as she bounced away slightly, Verona held her tail with her other hand. Within a few heartbeats, Kal had already scrunched her face up to hold back laughter. She was very ticklish. Kal grunted as she returned Verona's attack. Both girls were laughing as they continued to squirm and tickle each other. Verona caught Anton watching them. She swatted Kal's rather sharp clawed hands away and nodded towards him. He would prefer to be frolicking with them, that much was clear on his face. He gave a small wave before returning to his task. All but one of the new Glyph users could hold a single steady sphere of magic, the older man. He was having trouble keeping it steady. The ball of fire would flare up before extinguishing itself in a way that Verona knew was deliberate.

He's probably getting scared that the magic is actually working. I know I was.

Anton looked at the sphere intently as it flickered in and out of existence. Judging by Anton's lips he was giving the older man words of encouragement, which appeared to be slowly working.

"Well, at least they're improving. Unlike the groping creature next to me." Kal lightly swatted away Verona's hands as they reached for her ears. "Soon Atros will be much safer. Six mages will be able to keep the Goblins at bay."

"That it will." Verona began to play with her tail again. "When Anton's finished with this, and we fix...speaking of."

Verona nodded to the gate. Standing to one side, to allow the light traffic through unimpeded, stood Cetina. The annoyingly tall woman scratched her head as she looked towards Anton training the new mages.

"Hey, Cetina!" Kal winced at Verona's shout. "Sorry Kal. Didn't mean to shout right next to those sensitive ears of yours." Kal grumbled as she wiggled a finger in her ear. "Cetina. Over here."

Cetina's head twitched towards them. It took a moment before she realized who she was looking at. Her face softened as she approached.

"Hello, Verona, Kal. What are you doing in the shade?"

"We don't want to be in the sun." Verona chuckled.

"At least you don't," Kal smirked at her. "Your skin starts to turn red if you do."

"It does and it annoys the crap out of me. Cetina, have a seat. You don't need to be standing all the time."

"Okay..." Cetina glanced about before deciding to sit next to Kal, perhaps to keep a living barrier between them.

"Did your walk clear your head a little?" Kal asked.

Cetina hesitated to answer. "Honestly, I don't think it did. Didn't make it any worse so that's a good start."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it." Verona released Kal's tail and leant back again. "I'm sure Anton would say that's a good thing. Not really sure how though..."

Cetina cocked her head. "What is he doing?"

Anton shouted something as a lightning bomb exploded. Thankfully it was small and didn't appear to cause any damage. However, the person at the source of the explosion, a middle-aged woman, shied away from Anton's angry stare.

"Maybe he might not be the best teacher," Verona said softly to Kal.

"He taught me well." Kal glanced down at Verona. "We sort of learned about our magic together. I think he's just angry she could have hurt herself. And that he’ll have to heal her."

"How much can that power heal?" Cetina asked. "I know you can't heal my eye, thanks to that Demon, but could limbs come back?"

"Absolutely. Part of my ear was torn off when I was very young. Anton used Tethra's power and grew it back. He also healed my broken bones."

"Among other things," Verona said snidely. She hadn't forgotten how Kal had mysteriously grown her bust after being fully healed, restored to the ways she should have been.

Kal playfully elbowed Verona. "True. I know it took a lot of mana, nearly knocked Anton out, but my ear is back. And that was before we knew that if the prayer is spoken aloud it reduces how much mana is needed. So a limb wouldn't be too difficult to grow back. Maybe over a few days…"

"But you can't bring back someone if they're dead?" Cetina's voice was hollow and soft.

Verona scrunched up her face hidden from Cetina's sight by Kal's body. She had asked a few times after they had met Ferula, and every time Anton had explained that it simply wasn't possible.

"I'm afraid not." Kal's ears drooped slightly. "While I haven't tried it myself Anton has told me that it doesn't work. Once life has left a body it's impossible to get back."

And necromancy, summoning magical skeletons, isn't really what you want.

Cetina nodded and watched the training in silence. Despite some time passing Cetina still appeared to be troubled by something. Since Anton looked to be busy for some time Verona decided to break the silence.

"Is there something else that's bothering you?"

Cetina bobbed her head slowly. "K-Kind of. Now that I've got time to really think, now that I'm in here and everything’s stopped for a while, I'm really worried about my old home."

"What Adara said about Bebbezzar?" Kal asked.

"Yeah." Cetina stretched out her legs. "Thessos...Thessos was my home for most of my life. And while I had to leave there...I still had a few friends before I left. And, if that Seocurian woman really spoke the truth, they could all be in danger."

"It sounded like a mess." Verona sighed. "Kings killed, Royals assassinated, merchants carving out territory and Communist bandit uprisings in the east. Do either of you know what a Communist is? Anton called those bandits that but I don't know what that means."

Kal and Cetina shook their heads.

Huh. Must be another thing from Anton's Earth, or whatever it's called. A strange name...Anyway, I'm sure there's a good story behind it. I do love hearing about that strange place.

"Well, don't tell anyone this." Verona began. "But we might have to be leaving Atros in the next few days."

"Already?" Cetina looked shocked. "But you've only just returned."

Verona nodded. "Yep. And we need to keep expanding Atros. And quickly. So we need to get to Seocuria and keep freeing Beastkin. More people makes a stronger city."

"Right." Cetina looked at the ongoing training. "That, that makes sense."

"If...” Verona rapped her fingers on her leg. “If we were heading through Qaiviel and Bebbezzar to reach Seocuria would you be willing to come along?" Cetina turned to look her in the eye. "I checked that map and Thessos would be along the quickest route to Seocuria. I'm sure Anton wouldn't mind making a little detour there."

"I...I need to think about it." Cetina brought her knees underneath her chin. "While I have a lot of good memories about that place there are more terrible ones. Terrible memories."

"Well...Give it some thought. It won't be for a few days at least so there's no great rush."

"I'll give it some serious thought." Cetina rubbed her chin and watched the magic training.

Anton had recovered from the small explosion and was directing the new Glyph users how to move their magic. They still only had one sphere but they no longer flickered or appeared to be on the verge of exploding.

"How great it would be to be able to use magic," Cetina mumbled. "Ferula said I can't though. Oh well. Guess I’ll only be over good with a sword and shield.”

“You’re very good at it too,” Kal said. “Far better than anyone else here.”

"Cetina?" Verona peered around Kal's back to see the Bebbezarian looking back. "If you're going to come with us back to Seocuria...How do you feel about being Anton's bodyguard?"

Cetina choked on her breath, Kal turned to look at Verona with a flat expression.

Why dance around the issue and not just say it?

"Me?" Cetina covered her mouth with her arm. She coughed and took a moment to steady herself. "But he already has both of you?"

"Two of us." Verona patted Kal's thigh. "Isn't going to be enough from now on. We need every set of eyes, ears and hands we can if we're going to get through whatever the future throws at us in one piece. A strong soldier with a sword and a big shield will make some little bandits think twice about attacking us. And I know that we can trust you. So, what do you think?"

"I would need to hear it from Anton," Cetina replied. "I...Don't have a problem with it but I don't want to just assume such a position without asking first."

"So you'll do it if Anton says yes?"

"I...." Cetina stretched her legs out. "I did like travelling with you three. Does that mean that I have to give up training?"

"Um. I'm not sure." Verona leaned forward and looked at Kal.

Kal raised an aqua brow. "Possibly. If you are in Qaiviel or Bebbezzar with us you certainly can't be here training. But that doesn't mean you can't when you are back."

"I'll think about it. Sounds like it could be good for me." Cetina lips turned up into a smirk. “Keep moving.”

Verona gave Kal a wink. Kal sighed and shook her head. She wasn't stupid, not by any means and easily understood what Verona was up to. The question was did Cetina think and how would Anton react to everything.

All at once the lightning and fireballs faded out of existence. Anton started clapping and congratulating the six for their skill and determination. While Shawn and Jocelyn looked fine the other four were exhausted, their shoulders drooped and their breathing was more ragged.

"Oh. We forgot to get the Karak fruit." Verona grumbled. Kal clicked her tongue and looked back to the gate.

"What fruit?" Cetina asked.

"Karak fruit. They're these pink juicy fruit that acts like one of those mana vials those mages in Graterious gave us. But these are just a fruit and not some weird ghastly drink."

"But we only have one tree." Kal continued. "If we don't have any of those fruit we have to wait for our mana to come back. I don’t think that Sybil’s had much luck planting more of the trees, we didn’t ask her before…"

"If it weren't for that tree Atros wouldn't be here. Anton wouldn't have had the strength to wipe out the Goblins and I wouldn't have been able to kill their commander."

"I guess I owe that tree as well," Kal smirked lightly.

"I'll have to see this tree then."

Anton slowly approached, constantly ensuring the six kept moving. When they were closer Verona almost felt sorry for the new four. They looked even more tired than she first thought.

"Again, excellent work everyone," Anton said loudly. "All of you understand the most basic ways to control your magic. And extremely quickly too. I ask that each of you do not practice on your own and especially in your home. Lightning magic is more than capable of starting a fire. And I shouldn't have to explain about the fire."

The four new Glyph users groaned lightly as they nodded.

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"Now you four have the rest of the day off. It's not a good idea to be working when you have low mana, as you can tell it takes a serious toll on your body. I also want you to get used to that feeling, in case it ever happens in battle. Right now you have very little skill or control over your mana usage, which is fine by the way, and it'll only get better with practice. So go get something to drink and eat and have a lie-down. You all did very well today."

They gave a tired but happy smile as they trudged back into Atros. Shawn and Jocelyn remained at his side.

"As for you two, I don't know if you want to return to the Smithy right away because I really don't have much more I can teach you. I only know one other way to use the fire and lightning magic and they're not something that can be practised anywhere near Atros."

"That's alright." Shawn face beamed with a smile. "What are you going to do now?"

"Right now I need to stop procrastinating," Anton looked at Cetina. "And actually fulfil a promise I made to give you back your sight."

"Can we help with that?" Shawn asked. Jocelyn approached Cetina, who frowned and backed away slightly as she moved closer to look at her eyepatch.

"Not, not really." Anton ruffled his hair. "This is something that only Kal and I can do. If we can figure out something that will actually work."

"You two can come here and play with Luna." Verona patted next to the grass. "Luna's just itching to get a scratch and she'll just distract them as they try to work, I just know it."

Luna, who had been dozing lightly to Verona's side, rose up at the mere mention of her name. She yawned and began trotting towards Anton. Verona grabbed her and pulled her back, earning a deer’s look of derision.

"See?"

"And she had been so well behaved up until now," Anton said.

"Because you lot were letting off lighting bombs." Verona scratched behind Luna's ears. "And she really doesn't like loud noises."

"True." Anton looked down at Jonathan's children. "Since you two are free you can play with Luna. Just be gentle with her and make sure she doesn't run up to us. We're going to be experimenting with magic and the fewer chances of us being attacked by her the better."

Shawn and Jocelyn nodded and walked towards Verona. Luna, upon seeing them approach, burst into life. The twins took the squirming white blob and moved several feet away. Luna looked a little concerned but relaxed when she realised she wasn't being taken away, doubly so once the petting started. With Luna dealt with Anton turned his attention to Cetina.

"I've been having a few thoughts about this, while I was teaching them just before, and-"

"Hold on." Verona threw her hand up. "There's something I'd like to say first."

"Okay. Although I don't think your blood power will be of much use here."

Verona laughed. "I had thought about that but I can only control blood once it leaves a wound. And I don't think Cetina wants me cutting around her eye."

"Not really."

"Not to mention the Gliyrhil would stop me from controlling it anyway." Verona clapped her hands and motioned for Anton to sit. "But that's not what I was talking about. While you were training the new people we discussed something with Cetina." Kal glanced at Verona. "Something we had discussed when we first arrived back in Atros."

"There were quite a few things that were going through my mind then." Anton sat in front of Kal, the closest he could be to all of them, and rubbed his knees. "I'm afraid you'll have to remind me."

"There were more important things going on then." Verona stopped as she saw a small group of Beastkin and Seocurians being led by some Atros guards through the training fields. They looked far more confident and relaxed than before. However, she saw the face of one of the Beastkin when they looked at Kal.

Disgust.

Hate.

Verona could see it in their eyes, plain as day.

They hate someone like Kal, who's married to their ‘saviour’ and helped to free them, but humans and even Seocurians are fine? This is ridiculous. And I'm sure that Rasha gets the same treatment, Oni and Minotaur, her being a bully when she was younger probably has little to do with why some Beastkin won't talk to her now. And Irso? Probably not, since she would kill anyone who got too close. Even Ulyaa probably gets some...

Anton frowned as Verona stared at the new group in silence. When he turned, and the Beast-kin saw him looking, the look faded away. Verona grumbled and held Kal's hand. She may have seen it.

"As I was saying." Verona waited until Anton turned back. He probably didn't see the look but he wasn't unobservant enough to not realize what was happening. The small flicker of annoyance was proof of that. "But we were talking about you having an actual bodyguard, beyond us."

"Ah." Anton nodded. "I remember now." He turned to Cetina. "And I presume they were speaking with you about that just now?"

"I...Yes." Cetina flexed her hands before scrunching them tight. "Verona and Kal just spoke to me about that."

"So, what do you think?" Anton rubbed his beard.

While Verona did like the beard she preferred it smooth. The smooth face didn't tickle when they kissed. Anton hadn’t let them get close to his throat with a blade since they returned from Qaiviel with Kal hanging off his other arm.

"Would I even be suitable for such a position?" Cetina asked softly.

You were a lot more confident just before.

"If I had to choose someone my first choice would be you." Anton continued. Cetina forced herself to remain steady and calm. "You are an incredibly strong and reliable person. And you were a great help to us and always a good travelling companion. Without you, we probably would have had a very rough time in Seocuria."

Cetina laughed. "T-Thanks. I liked travelling as well, not so much the lack of food right at the end. I suppose I could give it a try." Cetina scratched her cheek. "I don't have any training in being a bodyguard but if someone tries to attack you...us, I mean, I could cut them down. I suppose that’s the most important thing."

"Excellent." Anton smiled. "I know you're going to do great."

That was easy, wasn't it? No umming or erring once Anton asks you.

Verona gave Kal another nudge. Kal turned to her and rolled her eyes dramatically.

"But." Anton continued. "If you are going to be a bodyguard you'll need both of your eyes, not just one."

"Right. I'll be happy to be able to grab things properly." Cetina hanged her head low. "Like a fork. Or a spoon."

"Unfortunately I don't think there's a way to heal your eye directly. But, if I have Kal help me, I think we might be able to use your eyepatch as a substitute. You will be able to see properly today, I know it."

Cetina's fingers flinched. She didn't want anyone seeing her wound, not that Verona blamed her. Looking at the burnt skin and whitened eye was difficult at the best of times. Doubly so when one realised that most of her eyelid was gone. It was quite a serious wound. Cetina grumbled something as she unfastened the band around her head. As it came loose she raised a hand and covered her damaged eye.

"Thanks, Cetina." Anton gently took the eyepatch. "Kal? Could you please sit next to me? I need to discuss with you how we can put a prayer on this that actually works."

Kal rose up, taking great care to let her tail slide free of Verona's grasp, and sat next to Anton. Immediately they began speaking in hushed whispers as Anton pointed to various parts of the eyepatch. Kal lent in close and offered her opinion, her hand resting on his knee, before waiting for Anton's response.

Cetina remained in a hunched position, her elbow resting on her knee while her hand covered her eye. She sighed as she began idly scratching at her burnt skin.

"Does it itch often?" Verona asked as she shuffled on the grass towards Cetina. "The skin around your eye?"

"Sometimes." Cetina stopped scratching but kept her eye covered. "More often than not, actually."

"Does it get dry or something?" Verona peered closer. "It's still kind of a wound and if it gets infected..."

"I've been keeping..." Cetina chuckled. "I almost said an eye on it. It's nothing like that, it just gets itchy with that eyepatch covering it all the time. Most mornings I have to brush away quite a bit of dead skin."

Verona stuck out her tongue. "Yuck. When we're done ask Anton for some ointment." Anton looked up at hearing his name. Verona found it cute that it was almost identical to Luna. When he realised that it didn't directly involve him he turned his attention back to the eyepatch and Kal. "I'm sure that there's something that Anton knows form Eart..." Verona coughed. "I'm sure he knows something that can help. Beyond splashing your face with water."

Cetina nodded.

If that was Kal she would have immediately known something was wrong. She knew that Anton didn't come from this world with just a few words and that he didn't hate her on sight. Neither did I...So it must have just been his words. What a clever little cat. And a squishy one at that.

Verona pushed the memories of their exhausting but exhilarating nights to one side.

"Cetina? When you..." Verona grunted as she crossed her legs. "What's it like for you when you fight?"

Cetina tilted her head. "What...Do you mean?"

"When you fight, I'm remembering the fight with the Demon."

"I'd rather not," Cetina said glibly.

Verona poked her side. Cetina turned and glared at her but the sense of despair had left her.

It felt like it was just pure muscle underneath those clothes. My finger didn't go in at all.

"But." Verona raised her finger. "When you fought that you kinda’ went into this trance. Anton asked if we had seen it, but you just seem to calm down and fight...I don't know how to describe it. Just really, really good." Verona sniggered. "No wonder Anton wants you as a bodyguard."

Cetina smiled faintly. "I hope there's more to it than that. But when I'm in a big fight, like it was back then, I...It feels like I'm not the one doing it. Like I've been...Pulled back. And I'm just watching myself fight. A performer on a stage and I'm in the audience." Cetina shrugged. "That's how it feels to me. I don’t know how to describe it really."

"That sounds pretty useful. You won't get lost in the thrill of the fight."

Not even when you were mashing Sancha's head into the ground. Or ripping it off her corpse.

Verona was even more curious to see how strong she was.

"Do you do that?” Cetina asked. “Get lost in the fight?"

Verona hesitated to answer. "Some-Sometimes I feel like I can." She pulled down her collar to shower Cetina the red marks covering her neck. Cetina's eye widened as she followed the mark.

"It goes..."

"Yep. It covers most of my head too." Verona released her collar and parted her silver hair. Cetina gasped lightly as she saw how far it covered. "The only thing that doesn't have any of that is my face."

"Wait. Even your-"

"If you can name a part of me then it has it." Cetina looked at Verona's chest. "Yes. Even them."

"But, what is it?"

"It's the mark, a Glyph as Anton calls it, of the Old Gods. Kal has one on her back, nowhere near as big as mine. Shawn and Jocelyn have one and I'm sure the new people have one as well." Verona sighed. "And unlike theirs my God, or Goddess, Demi-God, whatever she wants to be called, is a real bitch."

"You can talk about your god like that? That would never happen in..." Cetina pulled a face.

"I didn't exactly choose her." Verona continued. "And she made sure that I remembered taking power from her or some bullshit. She...She messed with my head."

Verona brought her knees underneath her chin. "It was during a fight when Anton and Kal were away. All these Kobolds attacked us and I...Did everything that I could so we would survive. But during that fight." Verona shook a hand. "Jira did something and I began to enjoy the carnage. A lot. At least I hope it was here. I mean, if you ask Jeff or Sam, anyone that was there, they'll tell you that I was laughing like a maniac as I tore the Kobolds apart. I...Kind of envy your calm when you fight."

"But you're better now, right?" Cetina frowned as she looked down at Verona. "Whenever I've seen you fight you haven't been like that."

"Oh, I've gotten a lot better since then. But...I still feel that pull when I'm using my magic." Verona flashed her power just enough so her eyes turned red. "Even then I felt it, a tiny pull. I just hope I never let blood touch my lips when I'm using that."

"Something bad happens?"

"Yeah." Verona chuckled nervously. "You could say that. And I don't have that under control."

Cetina looked at her in silence for some time before looking back to Anton and Kal.

I mean what am I supposed to say? That a single drop of blood made me orgasm so hard that I wet myself and could barely stand?

Verona forced her mind onto the different line of thought.

"I am a little worried that I'll be distracted by it and then I could be dead." Verona sighed. "And there's no coming back from that."

"But...It doesn't feel weird to use it normally?" Cetina asked.

"It's a bit hard to explain. Like another limb, I suppose. Just another part of my body. It would be like Kal trying to explain how her tail felt to move. You just can't unless you've got it."

"We have something," Anton said loudly. "Just in case you two thought we weren't doing anything."

"And it should still work even when you wear it," Kal added. "The Ghlyirl in your eye and skin shouldn't be a problem with this magic."

"Still much more useful than mine," Verona grumbled softly.

"Perhaps," Anton replied. "But you don't have to use almost a quarter of your mana just to do this."

"How much? A quarter?" Verona pinched the bridge of her nose and scrunched her eyes tight. "Why does Tethra use so much more than anyone else? It’s just so strange that it does…"

"Anton did it before I could." Kal looked at Verona. "He can't help himself sometimes."

Verona laughed as Anton tickled Kal's waist. It was the same spot Verona had attacked earlier and must still have been sensitive. Kal burst into laughter as she lightly tried to swat Anton away.

"So what did you two do?"

Kal finally became more serious and Anton relented. "We decided that we couldn't just cast a prayer over the whole eyepatch, since part of it touches your skin which still has Gliyrhil in it. Which might cause the magic to break."

Anton held up the eyepatch. The piece of leather on top of the base now glowed with a faint white light. "Kal seems to prepare for things that we didn't even know were coming. So we took this part of the eyepatch off and cast a prayer over that. Whoever wears this will be able to see as if the eyepatch was an actual eye."

"Is that what you said to Tethra?" Verona asked. "Usually they're a bit more like a prayer."

Anton smiled. "Yeah. But the one that I actually did for this was a little more..." He rolled his hand as he looked up. "Precise. And better worded, that's why it took so long. Tethra can handle some ambiguity in the words but that takes a lot more mana than if you just take a moment and get it right."

"Will I be able to see with this?" Cetina rose onto all fours and moved forward.

"I hope so." Anton held the eyepatch by the band as he passed it over. "If not we're going to have to rethink a few things."

Cetina snatched the eyepatch from his grasp. Anton didn't seem taken aback as Cetina sat down, took a deep breath and fastened the eyepatch. In the few moments her wound was uncovered Verona saw that it was worse than she first thought. Her eyelid was almost gone and couldn't cover all of her stark white eye when she blinked. However, the skin around it didn't appear to be infected. With the eyepatch securely fastened, the faint white glow did not abate or snuff out, Cetina scrunched her eye and took a final deep breath. If everything worked this would be the last time she grasped at air or failed to find the edge of a table.

"Here goes nothing." Cetina opened her eye.

For a moment she said nothing, barely even moved. Slowly tears started to pour out of her eyes and down her face. A shaky hand waved in front of the glowing eyepatch. She laughed as moved it back and forth.

"By...It works." Cetina choked up as she held back even more tears. "I thought I would be half blind forever."

"You're still doubting us?" Anton chuckled. "I'm glad to hear that it works. How...hold up!"

Cetina lunged at Anton. For a moment he and Kal, and Verona thought she was about to head-butt him in the stomach. She stopped barely a foot away, a few dry strands of grass thrown into the air, and vigorously shook his hand, all the while tears ran down her face.

"Thank you, Anton. I can't believe I can actually see again!"

"I...It was our pleasure, Cetina. But don't forget to thank Kal. It was her idea."

"R-Right." Cetina shuffled and shook the hand of a nervous and perhaps slightly terrified Kal. She took Kal's hand without hesitation, even though she wasn't wearing gloves and her Beastkin hands were exposed. “Thank you, Kal.”

“I’m just glad that you can see again.” Kal smiled warmly. “I can’t imagine what it would be like to only have one eye. Perhaps it would be the same if I lost my tail…”

Cetina shook Kal’s hand again before moving back to Anton. “I can see again…Thank you.” Cetina turned to Verona and held her hand as well.

“I didn’t really do anything.” Verona chuckled, though not resisting the strong but warm hold.

“Doesn’t matter.” Cetina smiled. “You all helped me…You keep helping me too.”

“So what do you actually see?” Anton asked as Kal laid her tail on his lap. “Compared to what you used to?”

“Um…” Cetina sat down at her original position. “Kind of the same, I guess. But everything seems much…clearer now. Everything I see through the eyepatch is perfectly clear. It’s actually really strange.” Cetina brought her hand close to her eyepatch. “I mean, it goes away when I blink, thanks for that by the way, but I can see everything in perfect detail.” She dropped her hand and looked up. “Did you make the prayer do that?”

“Not…Not really.” Anton scratched his head. “I just asked it to give you…Oh. I asked it to give you perfect sight again. I think Tethra, since she helps fill in the gaps sometimes, made it that way. Is that a problem?”

“No.” Cetina laughed as she waved her hands. “Absolutely not. This is…Incredible.”

She continued looking at her hands, smiling and chuckling as she moved them back and forth. She was utterly delighted to able to tell how far away they were. Verona had no idea how it must have been like for her to live like that.

“Isn’t that glowing bit going to be obvious?” Verona asked. “If I saw that I’d immediately think that’s something’s up.”

Anton nodded as he looked at Cetina’s faintly glowing eyepatch. “Yes…I think that I just wanted to see whether or not it would work and I really wasn’t concerned about it. The other times we’ve enchanted things before they haven’t glowed…But you’re right. It is a little conspicuous and it doesn’t fade when she blinks either. And I have no idea if someone’s going to recognise it as normal magic or ours. Cetina? Could I have the eyepatch back for a moment?”

“Why? It’s fine.”

“I just want to make a few small adjustments.”

“Okay…” Cetina appeared loathed to separate herself from the eyepatch but she eventually relented. This time she did not cover her wound.

Anton mumbled something and the light faded from the eyepatch. Verona saw Cetina’s breathing sharpen and her heart race. If everything had just been a tease, a tease at having her proper sight back, she would never forgive him.

“Okay. Try this.”

Cetina took the eyepatch back. When she opened her eye she sighed loudly in relief. “It’s still there. Oh, that was scary. When I saw that light go out I thought that you had broken it.”

“Actually I had to completely redo the prayer,” Anton admitted. “So it’s the exact same but I asked for it not to glow. It used a tiny bit more mana but now I know that it’s good.”

“So how much do you have now?” Verona asked.

“A little over two thirds I think.”

“It just uses so much mana,” Verona grumbled. “I still don’t understand why…”

“Me neither.” Anton looked at Kal. “But it seems that it’s different for each person. Kal can do a lot more than I can with it and yet I can make those giant pillars of fire.” He shrugged as Kal’s tail swished happily. “I really don’t understand it either.”

Cetina, during their conversation, had been looking around with a smile on her face. Something that Verona didn’t see much from the Bebbezzarian. She quickly realised that everyone was looking at her and she calmed herself down.

“Almost an entire season I’ve been stuck like this.” Cetina laughed. “And with a few words, it’s back to normal. I think I’m going to need to do a lot of training myself. Just so I know how to fight properly. I’ve kind of gotten used to only having one eye.”

“I know,” Anton smirked. Cetina cocked her head. “I saw you practice a few times. You were bobbing your head from side to side like a chicken.”

Cetina flushed and forced a grin, even as Kal started chuckling at her embarrassment.

“Yeah…Yeah.” Cetina laughed. “But it was the only way I could make it work.

"However, if I'm going to take this bodyguard thing seriously-"

Oh, I bet you will.

"I need to know a few things."

"Such as?" Anton asked.

"I know that you, Anton, have really powerful magic that can hit anyone at range. Kal has her bow-"

"And daggers." Verona chimed in. "And she's pretty deadly with them too."

Cetina looked at Kal who smiled back. During their travels, Kal hadn't used her blades to kill, only to skin and gut dinner. The ornamental blade she had taken from Zig was all the proof Verona needed to understand her skill with a blade.

"Okay. And Verona has her blood magic and her spear."

"Not that I'm very good with my spear." Verona mused. "I don't really use it, I haven't used it at all since I got my powers. Most of the time I just carry it with me. And..." Verona leant back, her hands gripped into the grass. "It's been a great target for thieves. I know there were always eyes on it when I had to take that cloth off it. Even during the whole thing with Fort Acidava, I didn't really use it once. Not against the goblins or against those Demons."

Anton pursed his lips. "I...I can see...Are you thinking of changing your weapon?"

Verona shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. But I don't really use it. And it just seems a bit…much."

"The tip looks like it's one giant ruby." Kal picked at her claws. "Even I thought of stealing it once."

"What?" Cetina cocked her head. "What do you mean steal?"

"Don't worry about it." Kal chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her hands. Verona had been a little surprised when Anton told her that Kal had stolen gems worth dozens of gold coins. She hadn't done it since but it probably still weighed on her mind.

"I usually just use this little blade." Verona continued. "Once I've got some blood I can always get more."

"Cetina?" Anton shuffled on the ground. "Since you suggested a Halberd for Rasha do you have any idea what weapon Verona should use?"

Cetina turned to Verona, her eye looking over her body. "I don't know."

"That thing can't see through clothes, can it?"

Cetina's eye flickered to Verona's chest. Verona caught it as she tried to pretend she didn't. "No! No, it can't. At least, I don't think it can."

Cetina turned to Anton.

"I didn't ask Tethra to do that but I'm sure I could-Ow!" Kal dug her clawed fingers deep into his side. "I was joking Kal."

Kal slowly relinquished her hold. "I haven't forgotten about before...And there's no way that I would allow you to make something that could let someone see my mother naked."

Cetina held her chin as she looked at the ground. "Since that blood power of yours works at close range and you can use it very well-"

Now you're just flattering me. But I think I was pretty smart when I sent the blood through the ground to stab Eluria in the foot. I know I got many 'pats' for that.

"So there's shouldn't be much that can get close to you. I think you would want something easy to use and that'll keep you safe. Something like an estoc. Or maybe a falchion. Something that's fast and will likely leave wounds on the enemy. Which you can use then as your blood, if what Anton's said about your power is true."

"I..." Verona felt very awkward as she smiled at Cetina. "I don't know what those things are."

Now there are two people that use strange and fancy words. At least Kal is with me.

One quick glance dispelled that hope. Kal knew what they were, probably something she learned in the twenty winters she spent wandering through Graterious and Seocuria alone.

"If what I know is correct," Anton began. "An estoc is essentially a thin short sword with a very sharp tip, good for thrusting and perhaps for swiping attacks. Is that right?"

Kal and Cetina nodded in unison.

That Earth of yours taught you a lot. But how do you know what those are when you remember so little about your past?

"And a falchion is a light sword that's good for slashing." Cetina nodded. "It'll be light enough for you to use and if it makes just a single cut..."

"That could work," Verona said. "I would have my hands free if I had one of those on my hip, kind of like how everyone else doesn't haven't to worry about that."

Anton smiled as he looked between Verona and Cetina. "People might underestimate you if you have that instead of a large and expensive looking spear."

"And someone who underestimates their opponent can end up dead, no matter how good they are." Kal flexed her clawed hands. "Some of the hunters that chased me did. I'm here. And they aren't."

"Same goes for you Cetina." Anton continued. "Not only are you stronger than you look but they're going to think that you can't see that well. When they try to attack you from that side they're going to be in for a rude shock."

"That they will." Verona nodded.

"But in order to use a new weapon, Verona's going to need training. A fair amount of training. And, if I'm being honest with myself and my new position, you all need some training too."

"Why?" Anton asked.

"Because I saw that you handling those steel maces that we found in that town near Dragon Tooth Bay."

"They were pretty heavy," Anton replied. "But none of us were struggling to carry them. We took them one at a time so we didn’t fall down those rickety burnt stairs."

"True. But I don't think you could have used one for long."

"Could you?"

Cetina nodded.

Anton laughed. "Well, it seems my new bodyguard is a bit of an upstart." Cetina instantly realised she may have gone too far. The excitement of being able to see properly again had muddled her mind and had overextended her authority and position. Before she could speak Anton continued. "Since the rest of the day is pretty open I think that we could get some actual strength training in. Riding through the countryside is a good start but we should do more. When we’re travelling we should probably do some training when we stop for the night."

Verona looked at her stomach, hidden by the black leather hide armour. She wasn't fat, at least there, and her stomach was toned enough to clearly see the muscles underneath. All things considered, she had a good build and body. However, if the opportunity arose to improve her physique, something that she knew would drive Anton wild, she would take it. Not to mention it would also increase her endurance...

Verona clapped her hands and stood up. "I'm up for it. A good run and some exercise will be good. So long as we get to use the bath when we're done."

"I was wondering about that," Cetina asked as they all rose up. "If you have somewhere to clean yourselves. So you have one here?"

"Of course." Verona sniffed at her clothes. "We girls can't stink all the time."

Kal sniffed at her clothes, wrinkling her nose slightly. "I think we're going to need a bit more than just a wash when we are done. We'll need to give these clothes a wash as well."

"Yeah. We don't have soap here...Oh?"

Verona followed Anton's sight to find a villager running towards them. He was quite well armed but didn't appear to be one of Jeff's men. The blue piece of cloth tied to his arm denoted him as one of Dennis's deputies. Part of the police force that Anton was building.

"Excuse me, Anton!" The man didn't stop running until he was a few feet away. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face while he took long deep breaths as his body stooped over slightly. He must have run nearly the entire width of the city. "We need your help. There's trouble with the Beastkin."

Verona saw Anton's blood run cold, Kal the same. After everything, they had been through to finally start rescuing and freeing them it made Verona's blood boil to hear something bad was happening. And so quickly too.

"What happened?" Anton was clearly forcing himself to be calm. "Is there a fight? Is someone hurt? Even after everything I said."

"No! No!" The man desperately tried to wave down Anton's concerns, and perhaps potential anger. "It's not that. No one is hurt or injured or anything like that."

"So what is the problem?" Kal asked.

"It's...difficult to explain. But I was told to come and find you right away. Since they were certain that you would know how to deal with this."

"At least it's happening now and not after we've gone." Anton rubbed his face. "Where is this happening?"

"On the eastern side of Atros."

"That's where everyone we know is," Verona said softly.

Kal looked at Anton as worry began to overwhelm her.

"We'll sort it out." Anton gently held her hand. "Cetina. It looks like everything's going to be put on hold for a while."

"I understand, Anton. Do you want me to come along?" Cetina pointed to her sword resting on the grass by her feet.

"Better had. Just in case more people are needed."

"If it gets really bad you can just shock them until the fall down," Verona suggested.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Kal winced. "It's barely been a single day and already something’s gone wrong..."

"We'll sort it out." Anton took a step before he turned to Shawn and Jocelyn. They still had Luna nestled safely between them. "You two. Could you take Luna back to the Smithy? I don't want her with us if things get serious."

"Okay," Shawn said. "We'll take care of her."

"Lead the way." Anton waved the man forward, setting a brisk pace. Cetina took her sword and quickly joined them.

It was too easy. Everything was going so well, we should have known something like this was going to happen. But what could we actually do to stop it? Or is this one of Anton's little plans? Instead of stopping it let it come out and smash the problem on the head?

Verona peered at Anton's face. She could not tell either way. With her hand resting on her blade, she ran with them to the south-east, hoping with all her heart that Atros was not already starting to unravel.