Chapter 90: Nightmare, Part 2

On the second day of the journey—yes, it was already the second day—they only had carriages. Miracles couldn't be expected. Only carriages, meaning in terms of vehicles, because he had clearly read about the existence of portals. But it turned out that not a single one led directly to the capital. Probably due to concerns that an invading force might reach the kingdom's heart that way.

Sam, of course, hated it. Every second lost—not to mention entire damn days—felt like someone had stepped on his balls. He wasn’t a damn masochist. But what could he do? He had to cross his arms, suck it up, and deal with it. At least he had good company, good conversation, and had managed to stick to general topics without slipping up and revealing his... amnesia, for lack of a better word.

He was already preparing excuses for the inevitable day when he’d have to admit it. Anyway, on the second day, there was an incident that made them lose even more time. The carriage came to an abrupt stop.

Sam clicked his tongue.

What the hell is going on now?, he thought.

“What the hell is going on now?” he said aloud, banging insistently on the wall behind which the driver sat.

“A tree on the road, sir. I’ll have to backtrack.”

“No need,” said Christina. “I can handle this.”

“Ah, right,” the driver replied. “Students or not, you’re still mages. Well, go ahead then.”

Christina got off the carriage. Sánchez stayed put, thinking he could relax and that, in any case, his talents were better suited to destruction. But the next moment, he heard a dangerous whistle. It sounded like the screech of metal. And before slipping out of the carriage to check what was happening, he knew: someone had fired an arrow.

If it had hit Christina in the eye, or even grazed her... but she was fine. For now, she was fine. And he had stayed inside, arms crossed, as if he weren’t fully aware that roads were dangerous. Especially for nobles. For juicy targets like them.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked.

“Yes, yes. It’s just... the shock, naturally.”

So close to losing an eye or her life. For all he knew, the eye could have been restored thanks to the wonders of magic. But still, it wouldn’t have been pleasant. Not to mention being half-blind for hours or days until they could take her to someone who could provide proper medical attention.

Sam clenched his fists. In an instant, the forest’s atmosphere began to thicken. Dozens of arrows flew from all directions. Or at least that’s how it felt: a rain of steel. All the arrows were shattered by his ice before they hit the ground. No one was hurt.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Then, twelve people emerged from the trees. From the shadows. Well, “people” in quotes. Just bandits. It certainly seemed like more arrows had been fired than were actually shot. It was due to the shock of seeing that rain of steel flying toward him. It wasn’t something he was used to.

Still, only twelve people.

How did they fire so many arrows at once?

“Ah! What does it matter?” he spat. “This is nothing but a waste of time. Just what I needed now.”

Sam gritted his teeth. He was about to sweep those presumed bastards away, but then his eyes started to sting. He realized what was happening just in time to step back and cover his face with both hands.

“Don’t worry,” said Christina. “We’ve got this.”

True or not, he had to leave it to them. Sam climbed back into the carriage. No, he hid. Because the last thing he needed now was for those eyes to reveal him as the devil’s son. It wouldn’t be hard to kill all the witnesses, but he’d prefer there were no complications. The driver hadn’t seen anything. He didn’t need to know anything. The bandits were going to die one way or another. Sam took a deep breath. Everything would be fine.

Christina and Heather would take care of it. This was just a waste of time. A small bump in the road. And they were perfectly capable of handling twelve bandits shooting arrows. They weren’t even mages. They had faced worse things.

But, oh, how frustrating. He wished he could help them personally. He wished he could control those eyes that gave him away. That bastard Satan might have done it on purpose, giving him a limitation like this. Such an obvious mark.

——

The flames formed a familiar face. A scowling, impatient face. Hunger had no idea why. She had carried out her task perfectly. Everything had gone as planned.

But that was Lucifer for you. He was a bastard with a permanent stick up his ass. And she wasn’t into that. She was more about enjoying life, which could be damn short. Sure, they had been locked down there for millennia, but they had been sleeping for the same amount of time. Or even before, in some cases. And they didn’t complain.

Despite all their differences, the sisters knew how to enjoy the damn life.

“My lord Lucifer,” said Hunger. “What do you desire?”

“You’re well hidden, right?”

“Of course. Otherwise, I’d already have Michael on my damn back.”

“No jokes, Hunger. I’ve waited too long for this. Plan A has been a failure. At least for now. So I’m counting on you.”

Hunger still didn’t understand how Satan had thought that his own son, who would at least resemble the father in pride and arrogance, would simply bow his head and say yes to letting him pilot his body. To essentially killing him while alive.

If the plan was more complex than she thought, Lucifer had never revealed the details, neither to her nor her sisters. She didn’t know what had gone wrong, but the truth was, she didn’t care. After all, that was the only reason she could do this. Well, with His Satanic Majesty’s permission, in any case.

“Keep it up,” Satan ordered. “It’s almost time. Very little remains.”

You have no idea, she thought. You little bastard.

——

Christina kept her promise.

“Sam, I can’t see clearly,” she said. Not that she could from her position, but in any case, she dealt with the bandits, those arrogant pricks. And no one was hurt—not the people she cared about, not the coachman, who seemed like a pain in the ass.

The glow in his eyes faded about a minute before the fight ended. So all the danger had passed. Sam took a deep breath as his sisters climbed back into the carriage.

Christina hadn’t just dealt with the pricks but also the tree blocking the road. Of course.

“Well, that’s done,” Christina said.

“It was nothing.”

He was surprised by the coldness in her tone. Not that he cared, but it was him. She was supposed to care about having just killed human beings.

Supposed. What did he know about normal people?

Nightmare, Part 2: END