Cross spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up ruefully at his captors. He struggled weakly at his restraints, but his arms were firmly locked in place behind him. He shook his head, trying to clear away a small trickle of blood that had begun to drip down his eye.

"Would any of you care to lend me a hand?" Cross asked politely. He received a punch to the side for his trouble, along with a fair number of groans from those who hadn't yet recovered from the brawl. He curled up into himself for a moment before looking up at his large tormentor "Ahh, that was rude."

Another punch followed, sending him reeling into the padded seating before he was hauled back into a sitting position. A man sat down across the table from him and Cross was roughly turned to face him.

"Hello, my name is Jer." He greeted Cross with a slight dip of his head. He was dressed differently than the others. Long, high collared black robes with purple runes that seemed to move on their own and a wide brimmed black hat, which he removed and placed on the table before him.

A high priest of Jerrah.

"Funny. I met a woman named Jer once. Any relation?" Cross said lightly, pushing himself into a more comfortable position with a bit of effort.

"All high priests of Jerrah take unto his name. Jerrah is the light in the dark, and the dark in the light. We are all but his humble servants. We follow his word, the word of the absolute," Jer said serenely.

"Right, I'll let you get to that then. If you would just..." Cross wiggled back and forth, shaking his restraints. Jer smiled. It was not a pleasant sight.

"Oh I'm afraid I cannot do that. You see, that which you carry contains a claim to a rather important piece of property to our cause. One that Jerrah has deemed necessary. I'm sure you understand."

"Not really." Cross said, shaking his head. "But you do, and that seems to be the important part."

"There is wisdom in your words!" Jer said, clapping his hands together happily. "So, I take it you finally have come to see the error of your ways and are prepared to hand it over? I swear upon the Absolute Word of Jerrah you will receive no further harm."

Cross clicked his tongue. "Ah. Sorry, but I really can't do that. You have your rules and I have mine. I'm sure you understand."

Jer's smile faded ever so slightly and he raised a hand. "I'm very sorry to hear that. I do detest killing. Every death is one less follower that could have been."

Cross tilted his head to the side. "Well I mean you could just remove it from this pouch here, but-"

Before Cross could finish talking one of the Followers roughly grabbed at the leather pouch... And was subsequently lifted off his feet as a blast of lightning shot from the pouch and threw him across the car. He landed in a smoking heap.

Cross tutted. "But I'm the only one who can open it. Old magic." He turned to Jer, whose smile had completely faded by this point, and gave him a cheeky smile. "Guess that leaves us in a rather awkward situation?"

Jer narrowed his eyes as he lost all sense of pretense. He stood up and pulled a thin knife from beneath his robes. Leaning across the table he plunged it into Cross's side. "My patience has now grown thin, Courier. I will ask you one more time, and if find your answer displeasing I shall have your tongue cut from your insolent head!"

Cross didn't reply as something struck the window across from them and stuck in place. Five more 'clinks' were heard as five more small balls slammed into the remaining windows of the car.

"Oh no." Cross threw himself to the side and rolled under the table just before the balls detonated.

The windows imploded in a jet of fire and glass. Screams were heard, followed by what sounded suspiciously like bones snapping. In a matter of seconds following, the entire car went eerily quiet. The silence only lasted for a moment before there was a light laugh followed by a curse. "Cross? Oh shit did I blow up the wrong car?"

"Romeo, what the hell are you doing here?" Cross managed to grunt out as Romeo ducked his smiling head under the table. He undid Cross's binding before pulling him out and up. Cross bit his lip to keep from screaming, the knife still firmly lodged in his side.

"Servilia said you might need some help." Romero said, still not noticing Cross's wound as he observed his handiwork proudly. He lifted a hand up to his handsome and tousled his long, tawny hair. "I figured I'd bring the thunder. I actually borrowed some of your powder. Hope you don't mind. These bombs needed more of a kick to them and your mixture seems to be the best..." He trailed off as he finally turned to Cross who was experimentally tugging at the hilt of the knife with little success. "Oh shit"

"Yeah." Cross said lamely as he sat down, his face beginning to go white.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

"You got a knife in you!"

"I realize that Romeo."

"Does it hurt?"

Cross gave him a blank look. "What do you think?"

"Should... should I pull it out or leave it in?" Romeo said, reaching his hand out for the hilt before Cross slapped his hand away.

"Don't touch it!"

"Well it shouldn't be in there!"

"Well you're not a doctor!"

"It doesn't take a genius to know that shouldn't be where it is"

"Well that's good because you are far from a genius" Cross slapped Romeo's hand away again. He was starting to get nauseous. He rested his elbow on the ruined table and pressed his hand against his temple. "Fine, just do it quick."

"Awesome!" Romeo replied excitedly, reaching down and ripping the knife out without hesitation. Cross let out a loud curse and slipped down against the table, slamming his fist against the wood repeatedly.

"Oh, the blade isn't even the big." Romeo said, unimpressed. He bent down and wiped it clean on the jacket of one of the Followers. He glanced as Cross who was still reeling. "Dibs, by the way. I'm keeping this."

Cross sucked in a reedy breath as he leaned down and tore a long strip of fabric from Jers robes and dressed his wound the best he could. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough. "I hate you, Romeo."

"You love me." Romeo said, pulling Cross up again and letting him lean on his shoulder. "Come on, Courier. You still got a delivery to make, don't you? We're almost at your stop."

Cross grunted, shrugging Romeo off and stumbling into the next car, unsurprised to find a large pile of unconscious bodies. He glanced back at Romeo who was all smiles. "The gas bombs worked. I told you they would work! They were in the car behind us too."

"Then why didn't you use the gas bombs on MY car?" Cross asked, hissing in pain as he upset his side with each step.

"Oh... Yeah that would have worked too I bet." Romeo said, sincerely contemplating the idea for the first time.

Cross shook his head and continued onto the next car, which was thankfully populated by regular patrons. He slipped onto the end of a table and Romeo took a seat a few rows up. The rest of the trip went by with blessed simplicity, with Cross only having to keep pressure on the wound until his train arrived at the correct stop. Moving swiftly despite his injuries, he followed Romeo off the train and into a waiting carriage. It was best not to be around when they discovered the unconscious Followers.

Or the damage to the train

A young and rather plump man and an older, lean woman greeted them inside. The latter of which held a small crossbow in her lap, a bolt already in place. Romeo eyed it uneasily, but Cross didn't bat an eye.

"I'm so relieved to see you arrived." The plump man said excitedly. "I'm Mr. Williamson. I made the request. This is my bodyguard, Catharina."

"Pleasure." Cross said, reaching down for his pouch while Romeo leaned forward, eyes focused on Catharina, his concern over the weapon vanishing.

"Madame, please excuse me but I must say, you are the most beau-ah!" Romeo yelped as Cross cuffed him hard on the ear. Catharina smiled ever so slightly, but said nothing as Romeo looked sulkily out the window.

"Apologies." Cross muttered, reaching into the pouch and putting his fingers on the letter, but not removing it fully. "Please confirm identity with the given keyword or keywords."

"Oh right, right!" Williamson said, looking over to Catharina. "Would you be a dear? I am no good with this sort of thing."

"A thousand lies is worth less than a single truth." Catharina said. Cross nodded and handed over the will. Williamson took it with shimmering eyes.

"You have no idea what you have done for my family." Williamson said as he opened up the envelope and began to read. "This land has belonged to my family since the Old Time, before there were even division lines between the kingdoms. With this, we can make sure it stays firmly in hands of my family for another generation. Not the Followers, nor even the Queen herself can dispute my claim!" Beside him Catharina nodded, though she did not seem as convinced as him. Williamson bounced in his seat happily for a moment before turning his attention back to Cross. "You two must be exhausted! Would you care to spend the night at my manor? It would be no trouble."

"We would lo-" Romeo started but Cross cut him off.

"We are honored, but we must return to our guild." Cross said politely.

"Of course, of course." Williamson waved his hand. "Well at least allow me to arrange your transportation. You, my young courier, look absolutely beaten ragged! I shall not take no for an answer!"

Cross was too tired to argue and simply nodded, leaning back in his seat. Taking advantage of the lull in conversation, Romeo leaned forward to again try his luck with Catharina. This time without Cross's interference.

xXx

"We should have stayed the night." Romeo mumbled as he followed Cross into the guild. It was already late, and the building was quiet save for a few late night readers and snack eaters. "Catharina was beautiful."

"You think every girl is beautiful." Cross muttered. While the bleeding had stopped, the nauseous feeling had not. He simply wanted to go to his room and fall asleep.

"Every girl IS beautiful." Romeo said as they ascended the stairs towards their bedrooms. "You see Cross, what you have to understand about women is guh" Romeo was cut off as he bumped into Cross who had come to a sudden stop. Cross grit his teeth in pain but did not make a noise as he tried not to wither under the piecing gaze of Lexi who was standing silently in the dark hallway, her eyes shining in the darkness.

She slowly approached the pair, stopping only a few inches away from Cross. She dragged her eyes up and down his form, her eyes narrowing.

"It's just a few bruises." Cross lied, holding himself up to his full height "I'll have Galen give me a checkup in the morning."

He made to move but she stopped him with a slight tilt of her head. Behind him Romeo fidgeted uncomfortably before letting out a sigh and pushing passed Cross, who winced. Lexi turned her gaze on Romeo and he froze, holding up his hands.

"Hey, don't look at me." Romeo said, pointing as Cross. "He's the one who got stabbed! Look, you can see the blood through his shirt."

"You traitor." Cross hissed as Romeo took the moment to slide away and into his room, leaving Cross alone in the hallways with Lexi who had still yet to say a word. He held her gaze for almost a full minute before finally he slumped down, exhausted and sore. "Come on Lex, I'm fine. I'll see Galen first thing in the morning. I just want to get some sleep right now."

Lexi continued to stare at him until finally he let out a sigh and reached over and pulled her hood down over her eyes. He turned on his heel and headed back down the stairs. "Or I could go talk to Galen right now. Sure. Why not?"

Lexi pulled her hood back into place and watched him go, her eyes twinkling. She waited until he reached the bottom floor to retire to her own room.