Chapter 16

Kara’s offhand blade shot low at Silas, causing him to dodge backward awkwardly. While he was off balance, her other sword followed high, only to be blocked by a shimmering shield. He planted his foot and twisted around, feigning a counter lunge. She parried but caught a knee to the midsection for her efforts. The air blasted from her lungs, causing her vision to blur momentarily. Kara stumbled back from the blow, but with her extensive training, she recovered immediately and took a defensive stance.

Silas advanced with an upward slash to finish her before she recovered completely. She used both scimitars in a downward cross to block the strike, then brought her knee up between her arms, meaning to return an identical blow she just received. Silas used his free hand to push her knee safely away, causing her to fly wildly into the air. With a grin, he caught her horizontally with both arms in a carry position. She looked at him in shock before finally wiggling her way out of his grip and landing on her feet.

“You cheated,” her face red with embarrassment as she sheathed her scimitars and straightened her hair and chest piece.

His smile widened, “Did I?”

“You did. It’s the only explanation.” Kara shouldered him as she walked past.

Silas watched her storm off back to her bedroll, which sat at the edge of the clearing a small distance from the cart. The morning sunlight silhouetted her form as the trees shimmered like an orange and yellow fire rolled over the mountains. She stalked back, angry, to gather her things to continue their journey.

“Just kiss and make up already, sister. There’s nothing wrong with being beaten by your better,” Antony teased several feet away as he lounged in the back of the cart.

Kara paused. After a moment, she changed course toward her sibling. Antony jumped down from the cart, expecting some banter back, but instead, she stayed eerily quiet. An evil-looking smile covered her face as she drew closer. A burst of red light covered her fist, and she shot forward.

Antony panicked, “Oh shi…”

BOOM

He took the blow right in the sternum before he could engage his movement skill and rocketed backward past the cart. Dirt and grass plumed in his wake as he skidded across the glade floor, finally coming to a rolling stop thirty feet away.

Kara released a satisfied sigh and continued to her portion of the camp, leaving Antony groaning motionless on the ground.

Silas and Xavi shared a stupefied look until Xavi finally let out a small laugh and patted him on the shoulder. “Good luck, master.” Then, he flew off to continue his patrol.

It had been four days since they escaped the keeper's den. Silas had transported them back to the clearing that Kara had been abducted from because it was the closest to their destination. They spent the first day resting before Xavi would answer any of their questions. He hadn’t given any new information, only confirmed what the Keeper had told him was true. When it came to the subject of ending the god, Xavi outright refused to answer. He only stated that his bound nature wouldn’t let him speak of it. However, the sad look that he gave to Silas was answer enough. He could kill a god. And the fact that it was possible at all terrified him.

The two hadn’t spoken much after that. Xavi insisted on patrolling more and giving them time to recover from the incident. Silas felt the imp was avoiding him, but he was still angry at him for withholding the information. He understood he was limited to what he could say but believed he withheld some of his own volition. A little time apart for him to calm down was welcome.

The one thing that Silas did gain from his time with ancient Kioko was a renewed drive to grow stronger and continue acquiring new abilities. He and the twins had been training nonstop for three days now, only taking time to rest, eat, and recover.

Of the siblings, Kara was the most impressive. Her ability to wield her blades was masterful. Her signature move was the downward double cross block followed by the flying knee. She only used the move as a finisher, but every time she did, it was over. Over time, he noticed she had a tell when she would use the move, and he had been working on the timing to counter it. He had been able to bait her into using it several times but never succeeded in stopping her until now.

Even though Kara was a better fighter, Antony was no less dangerous with his marksmanship. Where she excelled with a blade, he made up for with his cunning. They were the perfect complementing team.

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In the first spar with Antony, he had peppered him with arrows. Everyone hit true and sunk deep. They were so precisely placed in non-vital areas that it had taken Xavi nearly an hour to heal him. He struck so quickly that Silas wasn’t sure he’d be able to beat him at all. By the third bout, just when he thought he’d figured him out, Antony started to let loose. Whenever Silas moved in close, he would find explosive arrows perfectly placed by his foot, lying in wait while the man herded him like cattle without him realizing. That was when he convinced Kara to teach him the shield technique or a variation of it.

No one ever spoke of the difference between magic and stamina on the continent. It was just an accepted fact of life that when you learned whether you had an affinity for one or the other, you would only be taught of that side. But his situation was different. This was where Xavi had to step in.

According to Xavi, every being was born with magic and stamina aspects held within their core. As these aspect pools expanded, they would consume the other’s space before they could grow deeper. This was the reason why one with stamina aspects couldn’t use magic or vice versa.

In the particular case of the “god touched,” these augmented pools would grow deeper rather than expand, allowing users to use and develop both sides simultaneously.

In one conversation, Xavi gave an example that stuck with him. “Imagine a mage on a battlefield. Their powerful spells rain down on an approaching army, and then suddenly, they are flanked with no way to run. Usually, at close range, they are easily defeated, but if one was able to use stamina skills, they could switch to using them and reap their foes in melee. Or, if they are truly gifted, create massive swaths of destruction by combining both. One would be even more deadly and brutal up close with shields and weapon skills while firing destructive mana spells at close range. This was why the battle mages were feared so much. With enough training and skill, they would be a venerable one-person army.”

So far, Silas had learned three stamina skills. The first was a shield skill he named Blade’s Respite. He could activate the skill with his free hand, and the eventual goal was to cast immediately afterward, but he hadn’t had the chance to test that yet. The second was a simple blade strike Kara had taught him. She said that once he mastered it, she would show him the following three that would grow stronger when combined for a devastating attack. The third was a fist strike that Antony and Kara both used. Apparently, it was a family skill passed down from generation to generation named Fist of the Mountains. They told him with enough skill, it could sunder armor. He couldn’t wait to use them on a real enemy.

An hour later, they were all packed up for the remainder of their journey to the hunting village. They had decided together that they wanted to finish what they started in hopes of finding more warlock artifacts before returning to Holmberg.

Silas noticed Kara standing at the tree line, staring off in thought. She had been on edge since they returned and spent most of her free time alone. They had all tried to talk to her about her feelings, but she would just laugh them off and say she was “fine.” They all knew she wasn’t, but they gave her her space for the time being.

As he approached her, he stepped on a twig with a crack. She spun and shot forward, grabbing him by the neck, blade poised for a strike. At the last second, she realized her mistake and let him go.

“I… I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”

He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood with a smile, “It’s alright, Kara. No harm done. I should have announced myself.”

She gave him a sheepish grin, “Thank you.”

“Are you about ready to go? I, for one, am ready to leave this place; how about you?”

She smiled, then turned away, “I’ll be there in a moment.”

Silas stood and thought for a moment before he stepped next to her. “When I awoke from the Nobles curse, I was a mess: no memory, no direction, no hope. I sat in bed for two weeks contemplating my death, thinking of nothing else other than ending it all. One night, a priest came to me when I was at my worst and spoke to me. He told me, “It’s okay not to be okay.” That my life didn’t end that day, it began. And that there was nothing wrong with me feeling sadness and pain. I realized I needed to use my pain to push me forward and become something better than before. That I needed to prove to myself that I was something better. The next day, I continued my hunt. We are here for you. Just remember those words. It’s okay not to be okay, but it’s not alright to push those who care about you away when you need them the most. We are here when you are ready.” He said with a caring tone.

She didn’t turn to him or say anything for a full minute. Finally, Silas patted her on the shoulder and started to walk back to the others.

“Silas.”

He turned, and she collapsed into his arms. He held her, tears streaming down her face, “Thank you.”

He didn’t pay attention to the time they stood there, only that he wouldn’t be the first to let go. Not when she needed him.

Eventually, she did let go and pressed the tears from her face with the palms of her hands. She pulled the chain holding the soul stone from her neck and handed it to him, “Here. I’ve been meaning to give this to you.”

He gently took it from her with both hands, “You don’t need to give this to me; it’s yours. It’s your prize. It belongs to you.”

She laughed a real laugh for the first time since they returned to the glade, “No, it’s really not, remember. Plus, that’s the reason I was in that mess after all.”

He eyed the stone briefly before nodding and hanging it around his neck. He hugged her, and they walked back to the others arm in arm.

Antony watched the two approach, and a smile appeared on his face before he spoke. It was not one meant to mock or harass, just one of content. “Are you ready, sister?”

“I am. We should be there by mid-day if my memory is correct. Is everything ready?”

“It is,” he said. “Yuki is all harnessed up and ready. She’s anxious to move. I’ll drive first if you don’t mind.”

They loaded into the cart and took off. Silas noticed Xavi had a disgusted look on his face. Before he could ask him a question, the imp rolled his eyes. “Humans.”