Vetica

She ran through the streets of Sange, cutting down soldiers without stopping. The armor that Philomena and her men wore was etched in her mind; carved into the portion of her brain that separated humans from prey.

The ones who wore that armor were prey and nothing more.

“Hey!” one of them called out as her feet slapped quietly against the cobblestone street. It stuck out because it made for such a strange last word. He didn’t utter another.

It was hard to with a slit throat.

The dungeon. Vetica had to get to the dungeon. She’d traveled all along the outskirts of this city over the last few days. She’d come to the conclusion that the dungeon entrance, or entrances, had to be somewhere near the villages center. If she kept moving inward, she would find it. The buildings on either side of her were packed so tight she didn’t have a choice but to move forward. She wanted to keep to the ground for now. Hidden.

The fight with Philomena had taken up too much time. She’d fallen behind the others. For all she knew, Geron and his party had already found Charlie and made their escape. She needed to find him now.

She sidestepped several corpses and avoided the shattered glass of a storefront window in the street.

“Leave no trace, disturb nothing except the lives of your enemies.”

The street ended in an official looking wooden building. At least, it seemed as if once looked official. Now it looked as if someone had been thrown through the front wall. The building was in shambles. The windows in the building were smashed. Its wood splintered. Sange as a whole looked bad after the all the fighting, but this building looked like a hex beast had rampaged through it.

But what caught her attention was the tunnel, now clearly visible through the remnants of the building. With both the rear and front wall mostly destroyed, she just could barely make out the dungeon’s entrance.

A series of bodies in black armor were strewn in front and inside the building. Her eyes shot open, and she skidded to a stop. She shot to the right of the street and pressed herself against the other wall of the building.

Those were Hex Knights. Something had killed all of them. She remained in a crouch and crept forward, sticking close to the wall. It would be wise to look for another entrance, but her curiosity was powerful and not easily denied.

Even when the stakes were this high.

Talking? Whispers? She tilted an ear toward the noise and closed her eyes, focusing on the words.

They were coming from up ahead, that much was obvious. But where?

She crept forward. There it was, coming from inside one of the other buildings. Whoever it was had taken shelter after the fight that took place here. If Hex Knights were involved, the situation in Sange was not what she thought it was. She skirted around more broken glass and dead bodies, until finally, she reached the building. The window was cracked. Some powerful force had destroyed all the glass on this street. Who exactly was inside this building?

She risked a glance, lifting an eye to the window to peer inside. One was a man in fine garb, probably a noble. He paced back and forth nervously. The other person was a Hex Knight in black armor with gold trim. That meant her rank was fairly high.

Vetica drew her dagger. The knights were after Charlie. If they were in Sange, it would be better to kill any of them she ran into. She couldn’t afford to let them pick up his trail.

She would kill these two and then resume her search.

“Your majesty, you must calm down,” the knight said.

Vetica’s eyes shot open. “What?” she mouthed.

“Calm down? That was Sir Albert! He killed all of them! How am I supposed to be calm?” The King crossed his arms against his body. He was shivering with fear. It was disgusting. “What are we going to do? The city is destroyed, and we are alone! You must do something, Fiona!”

Vetica ducked and leaned against the building’s wall. Light-Bladed Demon Fiona. The whole title thing had never been something Vetica could take seriously. But when the moniker belonged to one of the twelve, it was different. There are moments in life where you realize you just narrowly avoided death.

Realizing she had been seconds away from storming in there to try to take down someone like that made Vetica realize this was one of those moments. If she had stormed in, her life would already be over.

The shock didn’t last long. Vetica was used to those near-death realizations. They’d been a daily occurrence for her during childhood. Of course it had with a family like hers.

With a father like hers.

“What are you doing? What is that?” the King asked.

“Your majesty, surely you didn’t believe we wouldn’t have made preparations for something like this?” Fiona asked. Footsteps.

They were approaching.

Vetica scrambled. She stayed low to the ground and hurried to the building next door. She turned the corner into the damaged store just in time.

She cautiously stood and peeked through an opening in the building’s wall. There was a horn in Fiona’s hand. The knight unwrapped its end and then slammed it against the ground. A white smoke emanated from it and then rose into the sky.

The king stared up as the column of smoke climbed higher and higher. “What are you doing? You’ll attract enemy soldiers!”

“Your majesty, you are the king of the most powerful nation in the world. Did you really think we would send an escort of only five people?” she asked him. She spoke rather candidly with the king. That surprised Vetica.

“But you said it would be safer to do so?” the king said, shaking his head in confusion. He warily looked further down the street to make sure nobody was coming towards them.

Fiona sighed. “Only a handful traveled with you from the capital city itself. But we sent word to other knights that were already traveling. We wanted to ensure if this was a trap…” She started to slowly turn in circles, staring at the sky. “That our enemies wouldn’t realize we had men in reserve. Sir Gregory and the others—”

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A column of white smoke rose into the air in the distance. Vetica’s eyes widened.

Fiona smiled. “They’ll be here shortly. Within the hour, this city will be under the control of the Hex Knights, your majesty. Then we’ll get to the bottom of all this.”

Vetica cursed. She turned and made her way toward the back of the building.

She had to warn Charlie. They had to get out of Sange now, before the knights arrived.

Charlie

“We can spend one more day here to rest, then get back on the road,” Merlin said.

Charlie nodded. To be honest, staying in Sange made him a bit anxious for some reason. But maybe it wouldn’t be so bad now that things had changed. They still had to locate Vetica and Sophia’s mom, anyway. Plus, they would need more supplies for the road. It made sense to wait another day.

Merlin’s friends seemed vaguely aware that Charlie wasn’t a normal baby. Merlin had kept Charlie’s secret as best he could while also explaining he was special. But showing up on the head of a Scaler had been out of character for a normal baby, apparently.

Charlie didn’t think that was a fair assumption but didn’t have time to correct the prejudices of all these grown men. They would just have to live on in ignorance and continue to be surprised by all the cool babies they encountered.

They asked Josephine about the dungeon instead.

“So, the snatchers are all gone?” Crussus asked.

Josephine shied under all the attention. She hid behind Godo’s leg and nodded. “Lyra told the adventurers that only the ones with red eyes are left. The others have been turned back. I think only two didn’t change back.”

Torq shook his head. “Two of them? The poor kids. We’ll have to find a way to help them then. Whatever it takes, we’ll change em back. On my honor as a—”

Josephine interrupted him. “They didn’t want to change back. Tomas has been one for a long time. And…” Josephine paused and covered her mouth with both hands. Apparently, she’d been told not to tell anyone about the boys’ identities.

The children had decided to hide the identities of Luc and Tomas. It was probably Lyra’s doing. Charlie hoped that meant they wouldn’t tell anyone about him, either. Of course, the mayor had seen him in action, but he was in Luc’s hands now. Charlie trusted his friend to ensure the secret was kept.

The men all froze at the mention of Tomas. Crussus dropped to a knee, just barely catching himself before he fell to the ground. “Are you saying there was a boy named Tomas with you? He’s alive?” Crussus shook his head. “He’s a snatcher?” he asked, a strain in his voice.

Merlin hurried over to help his friend up. He too looked toward Josephine for an answer.

She looked conflicted. She’d already said something she wasn’t supposed to. Josephine bit her lip and looked toward Charlie and Sophia for help.

Charlie gave a thumbs up. Sophia, seeing him, nodded her head as well.

Josephine looked back at the men, asking her questions. “Yes, Tomas is alive. He didn’t leave with us, though. I think he is still inside the dungeon somewhere.”

“Merlin, I have to go now,” Crussus said.

“I promised to come with you,” Merlin said.

Crussus turned and shook his head. “No friend, you’ve found the one you were fighting for. The battle is over. You need not worry about me now. Without you, I would still be a slave, stuck in the memories of his past. This is something I must do alone. But know this, Merlin. From this point forward, you will forever have a brother in me.”

He reached a hand out toward Merlin.

Merlin reached out and clasped the knight’s hand with a satisfying clap. “You’re saying this like its goodbye,” Merlin said.

Crussus nodded. “It is. After I find Tomas, we’ll return to my homeland. But you know where to find me should the need ever arise, my friend. I’ll pray a prayer of protection on your behalf tonight.” With that, Crussus turned and shook a few other hands, and then left the camp. He turned to look at Charlie over his shoulder. “You’re very lucky to have such a caretaker. Treat him well.”

Charlie shrieked his agreement. “I will,” he thought to himself.

Godo clapped his hands. “Godo thinks we should make ourselves useful! There is much to do in Sange! The sooner Sange recovers, the sooner Godo can do good business!” His cheery demeanor changed, and he looked toward a nearby rooftop. “Godo is very afraid of that woman.” He pointed at her.

Charlie turned and his face lit up. “Vetica! You found us!” he said cheerfully. What were the odds of that? Reunited with both his friends at once.

She jumped from the rooftop and landed close by. “I saw Merlin’s signal. Figured it had to be him.” She exchanged a serious look with Merlin. A worried look spread across his face, and he hurriedly approached them. “What’s wrong?” Merlin whispered.

Vetica took a breath. “The Hex Knights are coming in force. Within the hour, they’ll seize control of Sange.”

Charlie’s heart skipped a beat. “They caught up to us?” he asked. This was bad. Really bad.

Vetica nodded. “They don’t know you’re here. But once they seize control, it will be impossible to leave the city. We have to move now.”

Merlin’s head fell. “It’s always something! Alright. Let’s go and get Marvin and the wagon and—” He paused, looking down at Sophia. “Right. We still have to get her to her mother.”

“It’s okay. I can wait here for momma. You should take Charlie somewhere safe,” Sophia said softly.

Charlie frowned. “No. We need to make sure she’s okay. I’m not leaving unless we do.”

Vetica nodded. “Her mother is outside Sange with an adventurer named Tirille. I’ll take Sophia with me and make sure they’re reunited. The two of you need to leave from the opposite gate and keep heading away from Sange. I’ll catch up with the wagon and we’ll escape,” Vetica said. She paused, looking at Charlie. “Is that okay?” she asked.

Charlie thought about it for a moment. He wanted to see Sophia off himself. But if the Hex Knights found her with them, it might put her in danger. This was the only option, and he trusted Vetica’s plan. He nodded.

Sophia went along with it as well. She turned to Charlie and smiled at him. “Thanks for saving me. I’m sorry for any trouble it caused you.”

Before he could respond, Sophia ran off. She raised her hands to her face and wiped it.

“Goodbye Sophia. It wasn’t any trouble. I’m glad we’re friends,” Charlie projected the thought to her mind.

Sophia stopped running and turned to look back at him. She waved at Charlie, her face streaming full of tears, and then she did something that surprised him. “Me too,” she said in Charlie’s mind.

Charlie’s eyes shot open at the sudden revelation. Sophia had spoken in his mind, but how?

Vetica exchanged a look with Merlin. She took off running and quickly caught up with Sophia. She took the younger girl by the hand and led her down the street.

Charlie realized he’d missed something Vetica had said. “Wait, did she just say Sophia’s mom was with someone named Tirille?” His head spun. He had a lot to catch up on with his friends.

“Well, I suppose we’ll have to leave too,” Merlin said, scooping Charlie up. The Scalers eagerly shot up, ready to follow. “Oh great, more tagalongs,” Merlin commented.

Torq and the others looked at them. “What’s with all the commotion, lad? You’re leaving so suddenly?” he asked.

“Unfortunately, it appears we’re on the run again. I’m sorry, friends, but you’ll have to do the rest without me. I know you can rebuild Sange to be a great place. One day, I’ll come back and visit.”

Before they could protest, Merlin broke into a run, the Scalers following him.

He skidded to a stop with Torq’s words, though.

“Not so fast, lad. I still have a dream to fulfill. Don’t forget your end of the bargain.”

Merlin turned and looked at Torq. “What? Wait, you don’t mean…”

Charlie looked between them. What was this about a dream? He looked toward the old blacksmith. Did Torq really want them to wait around so he could take a nap?

“Aye lad. I cheated a bit and worked on it before I held up my end of the bargain. But I had a feeling you’d leave in a hurry. Call it an old man’s intuition.” He pulled something wrapped in cloth out of a pouch on his waist. “You promised me a hero from another world. Well, you delivered. So, it’s my turn.” A huge grin was plastered on Torq’s face.

He started to unwrap the cloth. “After all, every hero needs a weapon.”