I keep my eyes on the crippled man I blasted, just to make sure he won’t pull any surprises while Ulrika interrogates the other cultist. Just to make sure the guy I’m watching won’t make a move on us, I levitate my sword right over his heart.
“Listen here, you little insignificant waste of human sperm. I will de-limb you and let the crows feast on your flesh,” Ulrika says. I take a quick full second glance over to the tree she’s at, and the cultist on the ground tries to trip me. My sword lunges through his chest, pinning him to the ground.
“Damnit,” I say, pulling my sword out of his chest. I clean the blood off the blade by using his clothing then hover it over the top of the last cultist’s head. “If you make any sudden moves or try to hurt her physically or mentally, I will split you into.”
“Please don’t kill me,” he cries.
“Then talk!” Ulrika yells before kneeing him in the crotch. He slumps over, but she keeps him upright. “Give me what I want, and I might not knee your dick again.”
“Yes, ma’am!” It’s strange to see a cultist squirm. So far as I know it, these fanatics choose death over surrender. “What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything.”
“Where is Jesse Gill?”
“He’s back at our camp.”
“Is he alone?”
“No. There’s more of us, plus, Jesse has three of his gang members with him.”
“Okay, how many are,” she pauses to point at his chest, “you at the camp?” He fumbles on his words, trying to answer, so she knees him again in the crotch. “You better give a precise answer, or your balls will turn into mush when I’m done with you.” I almost feel bad for him, knowing the type of pain he’s feeling in his testicles.
“There’s four of us.” She lets him go. He drops to the ground, clutching his crotch while groaning in pain. She and I step back away from him but keep a watch.
“That’s seven, plus Jesse we have to deal with,” I whisper.
“We can handle them unless you’re exhausted,” she whispers back.
“I’m good.”
“Great,” she says with a smile. “What do you want to do with this dog?”
“I have an idea. Let’s send him back to his camp. I’ll have my sword follow him.”
“Okay,” she says in a normal voice, looking back at him. “Run along to your cultist pigs.”
“Really? You won’t kill me?” He says, stumbling up to his feet.
“Fucking go!” She slams air into him, throwing him through the forest. He scurries up to his feet and takes off.
“Shadow stalk,” I say. I point my finger at him, commanding my sword to follow after him. This ability makes my sword invisible as well as undetectable by magic-sensitive users.
“How far does it track?”
“It has an infinite range.”
“That’s amazing. Let’s see where these bastards lay their heads.”
Ulrika and I follow my sword at a distance through the forest. I have to occasionally pause pursuing the cultist because I can sense him tripping over things. He’s scared as hell, almost in a near panic. Correction, he’s starting to panic now. His speed is now increasing, so we pick up the pace. Suddenly he stops in his tracks. I detect multiple people moving around in front of him.
“He’s at his camp,” I say, easing forward. My senses are on full alert, so I grab Ulrika’s hand to keep her protected from any surprises.
“What’s wrong?” She says in a soft voice.
“Stay close to me. We’re about to reach the camp.” She puts her finger through the loop of my back belt buckle and holds my right hip. I navigate with caution and meticulously examine every detail around me.
“Be careful.” Her comment almost makes me want to laugh.
“I am. No need to worry.”
“Let me take the lead.” I put my hand on her stomach, keeping her behind me.
“No, Ulrika. It’s okay.” She looks me in the eyes with a slight frown.
“Okay.” I resume walking. Her grip around tightens. I can feel her worry for me as if it’s radiating like the sun.
“We’re almost there.” Up ahead, I see people moving behind the branches of the trees. I call my sword back, but it doesn’t reveal itself until I grasp it. The smack of the handle hitting my hand makes Ulrika jump and clutch her arms around me. I nearly fall back onto her. “Relax, Ulrika.”
“I’m so sorry. That scared the hell out of me. I thought you were getting attacked.”
“Relax. You’re tense.”
“Right... sorry.” I hold her warm cheeks and gently rub her eyebrows with my thumbs. She breathes slowly, taking air in through her nose and expelling it out of her mouth.
“Concerned about my safety?”
“Deeply right now.” I massage her shoulders, forcing her worry to cease.
“We’re almost done. We’ll deal with a few more people, get Jesse, and turn him in.” She stays silent but gives me a small smile. “Let’s go get our bounty.” I take my hands off her face at a slow crawl. She takes one more deep calming breath, then gives me a quick nod.
“Yes!”
I hand her back her sword, then we move closer to the camp. The cultist description of the numbers of Jesse’s gang and a cultist is right. Sadly for him, he’s lying dead with his head severed in the middle of the campgrounds.
“Well, at least there’s one less of them,” I say.
“Good riddance,” Ulrika says in a monotone voice. “Do you see Jesse anywhere?” I move some branches to have better visibility. This band of cultists is wearing identical masks. They’re the same type back in Rainor.
“Nope.”
“Wait! There!”
“Where?” She angles my head to the right and points her finger near my right eye. “In the distance.” Far in the distance, I can see Jesse’s long yellow hair at the edge of the camp. “Ah, I see him.”
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“Let’s circle around to get closer.” We flank around to be behind him. He’s talking with his people. I recognize one of them by their brown beard that comes down his chest. I’m confident that guy won’t be happy seeing Ulrika again.
“So, how should we handle this?”
“I think the plan I did last time might work.”
“What? Are you insane? You wanna walk in there unarmed, no protection, and try to persuade them to give us Jesse?”
“Hell no.” She laughs as quietly as she can. It almost sounds like a duck quacking. “I’m going in there armed to the teeth. You attack from behind using your fire abilities.”
“Which one?”
“Um, I don’t know. Uh, something that can target multiple people.” I create small flames hovering over my fingers to show her I can. “Awesome. Take my sword and use it with your sword just like before.”
“What precisely will you be doing before I make my attack?” She surprises me with a kiss, then a tender punch to my stomach.
“Persuade goldilocks to surrender.”
“What if he doesn’t?” I ask, looking at her.
“I’ll whistle loudly. I’ll try to nag him in the chaos.”
“Are you gonna knock him out again?” She winks and smiles with laughter, then suddenly stops to look at something. I check to see what she’s seeing. Hugging Jesse is Veronna.
“That bitch!” Ulrika whispers loudly. Jesse bends down to Veronna, and they kiss with such desire. They’re nearly slobbering. “She’s a traitor.”
“Hmm, that would explain the detestable face she gave me. We’re hunting down her lover,” I say in a soft voice, so Veronna won’t detect us.
“Unbelievable.”
Veronna tries to move away from Jesse’s lips, but he keeps on kissing her. He stops when his mouth gets covered by her hand. He tries to grip her ass, but she makes him hold her hands instead. They start discussing something out of earshot from everyone, then he suddenly brings her closer to us in a rush.
“Excuse me, who?” Jesse says.
“Two bounty hunters are on their way here. You must leave her at once. They claim they’ve captured you before,” Veronna says.
“Shit! Not those two again.”
“Come with me, my angel. I know a place I can hide you.”
“Angel?” Ulrika whispers with disgust. “That man is no angel. He’s a criminal.” Ulrika taps my arm, and with her other hand, she motions it like she’s paddling. “Get in position. I’ll create some wind, so she won’t hear you leave.” She looks up and twirls her finger. The treetops start swaying in the wind, creating lots of noise. “Go!”
I back away to create more distance away from Veronna, then rotate all around to the other side. To prepare for the surprise attack, I throw five fireballs above the camp. The light blue sky is concealing the flames as they float.
I return back towards Ulrika but stop halfway to have a better position to see what she’s doing from a different angle. She jumps into the camp with her sword raised, screaming Jesse’s name. Veronna faces her and spreads our arms to protect him. Nite and Jesse’s gang sworms around Ulrika. I don’t feel comfortable about her being surrounded, so I edge my sword right at the end of the forest. It’s hidden enough that no one can see it, plus I have it aiming at the closest cultist next to her.
For about a minute, I watch in silence while Ulrika argues with Veronna. Jesse isn’t paying attention to Ulrika. Instead, he looks around him. I have a strong feeling he’s looking for me since this is the second time he’s encountered this type of situation.
“I’m not the one you should be worried about,” I say.
Far in the distance to my left, I hear the sounds of rumbling thunderous hoofs colliding with the ground. I reposition myself to the right of a tree and dig in between the thick coily roots. A cavalry of elven horsemen swarms into the camp, attacking everyone. I decide to make my sword protect Ulrika, then run over to her.
“Stop! Everyone stop!” Veronna says. No one takes heed to her command. She tries to run off with Jesse, but Ayla stops and stands in their way.
“I knew it!” Ayla yells, pointing at Veronna. I make it to Ulrika then spectate the alteration between the two. “Fraternizing with a criminal? Veronna, why?” Veronna cowers from looking at Ayla. “Did you release him during the attack?”
“I love him. He would’ve rotten in prison,” Veronna says with tears in her eyes.
“Now he’ll die by my hands, and you’ll be arrested for your treachery against your people!”
“You stay away from my lover!” Veronna snatches a sword out of one of Jesse’s goon’s hands and attacks Ayla. Jesse flees away from everyone, heading north from me.
“Come back here!” Ulrika yells, chasing after him.
I rain down the fire from the sky onto the cultist, send five more up, and try to run after them. The long-bearded man attempts to strike Ulrika from her left side as she passes him, but my sword shatters the entire blade of his weapon. She tackles Jesse to the ground. The bearded man comes up behind her and throws her off of Jesse. I can’t reach her without blasting my way through the fighting, so I call my sword to my hand and fly over to aid her.
“Backoff!” I say, blasting him away from her. Jesse tries fleeing again, but his feet can’t get traction from the dirt. “Come here!” I jump on top of him, flattening him on the ground. While I’m restraining his movements, his goon recovers from being blasted and rushes me. Before I can protect myself with another blast, Ulrika spears her sword into his chest.
“David! No!” Jesse screams. Ulrika removes her sword out of David’s chest, then steps to the side to evade him falling on his back. She keeps her eyes on me throughout the whole event. “I will kill you all!”
“Shut up,” I say, silencing him with a knockout punch.
“Quickly. Let’s try to get him out of here,” Ulrika says. She hoists Jesse on her shoulder, then we take off running.
“Get back here!” Veronna screams at us. She runs after us while Ayla’s followers close behind, begging her to stop.
“Veronna, enough of this!” While I’m running away, I hear a grunt that pierces through the clashing of swords and roaring voices. I turn around to see what it is. Veronna has her sword lodged in Ayla’s stomach. She kicks Ayla to the ground and runs after Ulrika and me. Ayla takes a few steps back before collapsing on her knees, holding her stomach.
“Ulrika, keep running. I’ll deal with her,” I say, skidding to a stop.
“Give me back, my angel!”
“Why are you doing this, Veronna?”
“So Jesse and I can live a peaceful life!” We clash our swords into a standstill. “Give him back to me, or I’ll kill you!”
“Jesse is a criminal and is wanted by the Paladins. Why are you helping him?”
“He’s a changed man, and Nite promised us to give a quiet isolated life that we dream of if we joined their cause.”
“You’re insane!” She pushes me back and takes a swing at my neck. I block it before the blade reaches over my shoulder with a quick backhand. The bounce causes her to lose her handling, so I take the opportunity to kick her to the ground. “You’re siding with fanatics that attacked your home. Do you know what their end goal is?”
“I do.”
“And you want to be with them?”
“As long as I’m with Jesse, I don’t care if the world goes to shit.” She sweeps my legs out from under me. I land on my ass, and my sword drops out of my hand. She jumps at me with her hands going for my throat. I catch her by the wrist and keep her at bay from my neck.
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t understand what, human?”
“You’re madness of love for a criminal!”
She screams, then she gets a burst of strength to reach for my neck. Right as her fingers touch my chin, Ayla jams a sword through her back. Veronna freezes, and I feel her strength deplete in my hands. Ayla falls over to my right, taking the sword with her. I gently roll Veronna on her back, so I won’t give her more pain.
“Damn whore.” Ayla says. I glance over to her but get distracted by the elven soldiers subduing the remaining cultist. “Hey...” She reaches her hand out to me, rubbing it against the dirt.
“Yes?” I say, taking her hand.
“Did you catch Jesse?”
“We did.” She smiles, but the wound in her stomach makes her scrunch up her face and take deep raspy breaths. “What is your name, hunter?”
“It’s Kaioson,” I answer in a whisper.
“Kaioson, did we capture some of those demons?” I take a glance at the
“Uh,” I pause, looking at some of the elven soldiers pointing their swords at disarmed cultists. “You guys did it.” She smiles, but it’s backed by tears.
“Veronna, you fucking bitch!” Veronna laughs in pain. “I should’ve reported your actions to our superiors when I first heard you flirt with the prisoner.”
“Stop talking. You need to save your energy,” I say, putting pressure on the wound.
“Stop it... I’m already set for death.” I ignore her request and continue keeping the pressure. If there’s a small chance she’ll live, I’m going to take it. “She’s dead.”
“What?” With her eyes, she points at Veronna. I look at her to see if it’s true. Her mouth is open with a blood trail coming out the side, and her eyes are squinted. “Kaioson, I feel... cold...sleepy.” I keep the pressure on her wound and rest my other hand on her chest to give her warmth. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Some of the elves start surrounding us, but I keep my focus on her.
“Stupid girl.”
“Stupid and psychotic. She was willing to let the world burn if it meant she can live with Jesse in peace.”
“He manipulated her with his seductive words. He tried smooth talking me when I guarded him.” Her breathing starts slowing down as her eyes begin drooping.
“Don’t talk anymore. Rest.” An elf kneels with me. Ayla looks at him, and tears roll back behind her face. When she looks back at me, her breathing stops.
“How did this happen?” The elf kneeling next to me asks.
“Veronna met a devil who whispered good sayings that led her astray and made her an enemy of her own kindred.”