Vedic and his advisors went quiet. A hush fell over the room. Charlie could tell Merlin was freaking out next to him. Charlie hadn’t exactly planned on doing this ahead of time. In fact, he still wasn’t convinced a pillar to Vedic’s body wasn’t the solution to this particular problem. But there wasn’t any guarantee Vetica would go back to normal if he beat Vedic up and Charlie wasn’t taking any chances.

The voice of an old man was the first to fill the air. It was the advisor that had spoken during Vetica’s trial. “If the boy speaks truly, that book is invaluable. We could ask whatever price we wanted in exchange for it. Their resources are vast, and that book would gain us enough wealth to solidify our strength for decades,” he said.

Alona’s eyes flickered between the book and the smudge on Merlin’s collar. “He’s right, Vedic. We have to make this trade. We’ve been looking for an opportunity like this. If we let it pass us by now…” she trailed off.

Vedic grunted. “I agree. We should take the book. But why trade for it? A single man and a child stand before us. Will we bargain with them or take what we desire?” he said.

Charlie activated his ability again, and the book disappeared into his dungeon. “If you hurt us, you’ll never find the book. Only I can retrieve it. Either we make a deal, or you don’t get anything from us.”

Vedic sneered. “You’ll change your tune when I put a knife to your friend’s throat. Hand the book over, now.”

“Transfer.”

The room shifted and his dungeon material covered the rock again. “Don’t threaten Merlin again or I’ll kill all of your friends. Everyone in this room will die and you still won’t have the book. I’m done listening to you threaten people I care about. I’m trying to listen to my friend and solve problems a different way than I usually do. But if you keep talking like that, we’re throwing hands,” Charlie said.

Orb sighed in his head. “Charlie, I did not teach you that so you could threaten the equivalent of a final boss. It was meant for fun banter, not death threats. Let’s rein it in, okay?” the dungeon core said.

Merlin clenched his eyes shut. “We’re so dead,” he whispered.

Vedic started to stand, but Alona grabbed his arm. “Enough. You know as well as we do what that book is worth. You saw what we saw during that fight, Vedic. I don’t agree with you sparing her, but what’s done is done. Vetica is much stronger than she was when she was last among us. So, for better or worse, her time with these two has certainly led to her growing stronger. If your goal is the same as it used to be, isn’t it advantageous to allow her to continue this journey of hers? Isn’t she more likely to develop the power you want her to?” Alona asked.

Vedic turned to look at her. His face was full of surprise. “Since when did you care about that?” he asked.

“I don’t. Not even in the slightest. But as your advisor, my job is to help you bring the Rawlins closer to greatness. While I think we should focus our efforts elsewhere, we have a unique opportunity here. The Rawlins gain a valuable resource, and you send Vetica back into the world to continue training. She cannot escape consequences completely. Nor can she evade her duties forever, but this is the best way forward. Let’s make the deal,” she said.

The other advisors chimed in, offering their agreements. It was clear Alona had won them over. Not only the other advisors, but the crowd as well.

Lilica yawned and sat up in her hammock. “Wait, are we really taking this seriously? I won the duel. I’m the heir. What does Vetica matter anymore?” she asked.

Charlie resisted the urge to attack her.

Vedic sneered again. “I will not—” He paused. It was subtle, but Vedic glanced up toward the rear of the room. It was only for a moment, but Charlie noticed it. He looked backward and noticed a hooded figure in the back of the room. It was Hosuyo. If anyone else noticed the exchange, Charlie didn’t catch it.

Vedic let out a breath, looking around at his advisors, and then focused on Charlie. “You’re sure that book is what you claim it is?” he asked.

Merlin stepped forward. “It is. I’ve read it myself. It details dungeons, dungeon cores, and hex beasts extensively. Almost all of her research has been chronicled within. We planned to sell it to scholars in the capital, but for Vetica…we’d be willing to part with it. That is, if you’re interested?”

Vedic was quiet for a moment. “We’ll take it. We’ll do the deal.”

For just a moment, Charlie noticed a look of absolute surprise on Merlin’s face. But it faded almost as quickly as it flashed across his face. Charlie knew Themis would be disappointed. He knew he’d been tasked with protecting this book from the cult. But he hadn’t forgotten his mission. Charlie was going to find them and put a stop to them. It was true giving up the book might make things easier for them, but that just meant he had to work that much harder to stop them and their plans. Besides, he couldn’t do any of it without Vetica. They needed her by their side, and he would never leave a friend behind.

“One more thing,” Charlie said.

Merlin’s jaw practically hit the floor. “Charlie…what are you doing?” he asked.

“Don’t worry! I’ve got this,” Charlie assured him.

Vedic seemed annoyed. Even Alona made a face. Charlie was clearly pushing it.

“I’ve already accepted your deal and you ask for something else? Your insolence will be your undoing,” Vedic snarled.

“I’ll add something to the deal, too. I want you to tell me how to find the cultists. We’re looking for them,” he said.

Vedic shook his head in disbelief. “You offer us a book to give to our closest allies, and then you ask us to betray them? What madness has possessed you, boy? And what can you possibly have left to offer us?” he asked.

“You’ve made me really angry. You hurt Vetica, and you took away her personality or consciousness or whatever. So even though it won’t be today, one day I am going to come find you. If you tell us how to find the cult, I won’t kill you when that day comes. I’ll hurt you a lot, but I won’t kill you. That’s my second part of the deal. You don’t have to take it, but you should. I think that’s the only thing that would stop me,” Charlie said. “That’s what I’ll offer you in exchange for information.”

The room went quiet, and Merlin shivered. A chill ran through the room. Charlie looked around, wondering what had caught everyone so off guard. Was it him? He’d only been telling the truth. Had he made a mistake somewhere? He thought it was a good deal. “What?” he asked.

Even Alona seemed unsure of how Vedic would react. She turned to look at him. Vedic didn’t say a word. He steepled his hands and stared at Charlie. His eyes fell.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

And then he laughed. This wasn’t like the laugh before. It went on for a while. Charlie didn’t know what was going on, but it made him laugh, too.

Merlin looked at him like he was crazy. Orb discreetly flew out of Charlie’s onesie and into Merlin’s. He said something about “taking shelter” and “getting out of the danger zone” as he floated away.

When Vedic finally settled down, he stood and approached Charlie. He held out a hand toward him. “You’ve amused me. I’m curious what you’ll do when you finally find the cult, so I’ll accept the deal. I’ll take the book and give you Vetica and information in exchange.”

Charlie smiled. “And I won’t kill you!” he added.

Vedic scowled at that, and Charlie wondered if maybe Vedic hadn’t mentioned that part of the deal on purpose. Either way, he wrapped a baby finger around Vedic’s hand, and they shook.

Vedic turned toward one of the guards and nodded his head. The guard hurried off. It wasn’t long before he returned. Vetica trailed behind him. Her eyes were blank, and they fixated on Vedic as soon as she saw him. It was like she was waiting for orders.

“She’s been asleep since the duel. The wounds took more of a toll on her than I expected. I’d hoped to question her more, to learn about her strange traveling companions when she awoke. But I’m sure there will be time for that in the future. Vetica, come here,” he ordered.

She approached and stood in front of him. He placed a hand on her forehead and a green swirl of energy floated from her mind and into his hand.

After a moment passed, Vetica sucked in air and fell to her knees. “No! Father don’t—” she shouted. She blinked and looked around, realizing she wasn’t where she expected. “What? Where am I?” she asked.

Merlin hurried forward and wrapped his arm around her. “It’s okay. We’ve got you. We’re getting out of here,” he said.

She blinked again. “Merlin? What’s going on? I’m so confused. I was fighting and then...” She paused. “I remember.” She looked up at her father. “That technique…”

Vedic ignored her. He looked at Charlie. “Finding the cult won’t be easy. They’ve become good at hiding since Cendra’s defeat. If you want to find them, your best path forward will be luring them out. For a while, their movements indicated they were focused on collecting different goods. Rare plants, minerals, things like that. But recently we’ve learned their focus has shifted and now they are paying well for information on new dungeons. That’s the extent of our knowledge.”

Rare plants? That was interesting. It also might explain why the cult was so active near Hilda’s village at the start of his journey. Sycamara root was pretty rare from what he knew. If the cult was collecting other resources just like it, he wondered what they were possibly up to.

Charlie nodded. He activated his vault transfer ability, and the book appeared in front of him.

Vedic eyed it but didn’t reach out to grab it.

Vetica noticed too. “Charlie is that…what are you doing with the journal?” she asked.

Charlie smiled at her. “It’s okay. Don’t worry, I’ll explain later.”

She looked around the room, trying to gather what was going on.

Vedic turned and walked toward his throne. He took a seat and stared at Charlie. “Our deal is complete. I’ve given Vetica her freedom, and you’ll leave the book with us. Make use of the information I’ve given you and do something interesting. We’ll be watching.”

Merlin picked Charlie off the table and lifted him up in his arms. He then walked over and gently put his free hand on Vetica’s shoulder. “Come on,” he whispered. “We should go.”

Vetica looked toward her father, as if she couldn’t believe he was actually letting her leave. But Merlin softly nudged her, and she walked beside him.

The Rawlins, sitting at the long tables, watched them as they made their way toward the door. All eyes in the room were on them.

Charlie and his friends had just reached the exit when Vedic called out after them.

“Vetica,” Vedic said. A chill ran through Charlie. What was it now? Was Vedic going to go back on their deal? Would they have to fight?

Vetica reluctantly turned to face her father. “Yes?” she said simply.

“Your life has been spared and your freedom returned. But it occurs to me that Alona was right about something. You do need to be punished.”

Lilica perked up at this. An eager look crept across her face as she waited to hear what her father would say.

“That wasn’t part of the deal,” Merlin said.

Vedic held a hand up. “This won’t affect the deal. It’s a separate matter altogether.” He turned back to stare at Vetica. “As of this moment, I strip you of your family name. Vetica Rawlin is dead. From this moment forward, you are Vetica Nothing. Make your way through this world on your own, and when you return, prove yourself worthy of rejoining your family. This is your punishment. I have spoken.”

Charlie thought this might be a good thing. But the look on Vetica’s face said otherwise. She looked broken. Whatever her feelings about her family, she certainly seemed upset about being cast out. He’d talk with her about it soon, but for now, he had one more thing to do. Something that had almost escaped his mind.

“Oh, yeah!” Charlie said. “I want those two to come with me!” he said, pointing at the pallis.

Sister perked up. She turned to look at her brother, who shot her a look.

Alona sighed. It was clear she wouldn’t be offering any support this time. But surprisingly, Vedic didn’t protest. “If the two of them want to leave, then they can leave. Be my guests’ grey ones,” he said. It was something about the way he said grey ones that made Charlie think the message had some secret meaning. But if it did, it wasn’t one he could understand.

Brother’s face didn’t budge. Sister’s slowly fell. She looked at Charlie and shook her head.

Charlie frowned. He didn’t understand why they wouldn’t come with him. Vedic had said they could. But he knew there might be something holding them back. If they wouldn’t leave with him now, he would at least leave them with something. He focused on them and shared his words with both of them privately. “One day I will come back to make Vedic pay. When I do, I want you two to come with me. Okay?” he said.

Brother and Sister looked taken aback by his words. To Charlie’s surprise, Brother nodded. Then he turned back to look at Vedic and kneeled. Sister looked between Charlie and her brother, and then quickly did the same. He watched them kneel before Vedic as Merlin hurried out of the room.

“Let’s go, Charlie. Before Vedic changes his mind,” Merlin said.

Vedic

Long after the meeting was over, Vedic sat alone on his throne. Well, mostly alone. He reached for his wineglass before realizing it was empty. In a burst of anger, he slammed his hand into it and sent it flying toward the wall.

The glass shattered against it.

An impulsive decision. He rather enjoyed that glass. It had been in the Rawlin family line since before he was born. Now it lay in pieces like garbage.

“Your decisions surprised me today. It wasn’t like you,” Hosuyo said from somewhere behind his throne.

Hosuyo was right. The negotiations today had made him look weak. He’d have to ensure word didn’t spread. Vedic would spare his advisors and a few choice servants, those who knew better than to gossip about him. But if he didn’t kill the rest, word was bound to get out, eventually.

He turned to stare ahead at the door the child and his companions had left through. “Do you remember what I told you about the prophecy?” he asked.

Hosuyo stepped out of the shadows. “The one regarding your death? Why is that on your mind? You said it wouldn’t happen for a long time.”

Vedic inhaled a deep breath. He held it for a moment before realizing it. “I thought that because she told me the one who would kill me was just a child now. A baby. I thought that meant time was plentiful. But—”

Hosuyo interjected. “But we recently crossed paths with a rather unusual infant. You think he might be the one? If he is, why let him leave here alive?”

“It’s possible. I have no way of knowing. Rushing into a decision like that could lead to an earlier death. Besides, the boy is already going up against the cult. He may not even survive that. The future is hard to change, but not impossible. We’ll keep an eye on him for now. If he does succeed in weakening the cult, all the better for us,” Vedic said.

Hosuyo nodded. “I see.” He backed away into the shadows in silence.

Vedic eyed the glass shards along the floor and clenched a fist.