*****

Three quests pending

—

Cut the head off the snake: Kill the Lord Knight in the keep.

Reward: Ability Gained

Failure: Your side of the city will burn

—

Cleanse the Barracks: Slay ten guards. A bonus shall be given if fifteen are slain.

Reward: Stat Gain

Failure: Stat Loss

—

Kill the Priestess: Inside the temple of the keep is a priestess. Remove the filth by killing her. She perverts the minds of the people in the city, leading them astray. A bonus shall be given if the two acolytes assisting her are also slain.

Reward: Stat Gain

Failure: Stat Loss

*****

Grace read the quests that had appeared, a little overwhelmed by what was required.

Always called on to kill…

She didn’t mind the one that required her to kill the Lord Knight. The result for failure was exactly what Max had said it would be. The other two felt a little wrong, but in her mind, Grace knew there had to be a reason for cleansing the city of the followers of Grimdom.

After this is over, Levi and I will need to get out of here. No doubt whoever is coming will be looking for us.

Taking a deep breath, Grace settled her mind. There was nothing she could do about the quests, but she needed a moment to plan. Max would be her best help in dealing with some of those problems.

“You’re asking to start a war,” Max said, frowning as Grace waited for an answer on how to solve her quests. “I told you this would happen, and now it has.”

Nodding, Grace looked at Levi, who was still pouting about her not actively playing with him.

“What are my choices? You and I both know if I don’t do something, all of these people are going to die. I can’t live with that on my conscience.”

“You’re going to have far worse if this path keeps going,” Max muttered. “I know the dreams you have and the promise of things desired and wanted, but eventually, the weight of all you have done will crush you like a mountain. No matter how hard you try, it will seem impossible to rise above the carnage you have created.”

“Then what is the point?” Grace asked, almost yelling as she did and waving her hands in the air. “All this will be gone! Everyone will be dead! Maybe even you!”

People were looking at them, wondering why she was shouting and yelling at Max, and when he pointed it out, Grace grumbled, moving to the bench he was sitting on and plopping down on it.

“I know it sucks,” Max stated. “Your brother has no idea what you are doing for him, but the truth is, you’re going to have to tell him at some point. He’s going to have to believe that the actions you are taking are the right ones. How do you think that conversation is going to go?”

“Are you saying I need to tell him now?”

Max frowned, seeing the look of fear on Grace’s face. He could see her cheek muscles were tight, her narrowed eyes and skin far too young to have wrinkles mashed together.

“I’m not saying today, but soon. You’ll have to find the right time, but if you wait too long…” Max paused, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “It might cost you the one you love because they won’t see you as the person they knew. Instead, they will see you as a monster.”

Rubbing her eyes, Grace leaned back against the stone wall.

“Let’s forget the need to tell my brother. What can I do to help complete these quests?”

“Do you have a plan?” Max asked, studying Grace as she sat up and watched her brother.

Nodding, Grace bent down and picked up a small stone. “I think I might use the lesson you taught me for one.”

Grinning, Max shrugged. “I think I know where you’re going with that. It could work and would be easy to prepare for. When are you thinking of doing it?”

“Honestly, I’d like to strike tonight,” she replied, hefting the rock into the air and then catching it. “What I really need is some way to set the barracks on fire and then pick them off with stones as they come out in a panic.”

Max grimaced and smacked his tongue a few times. “Fire is a dangerous thing. It can spread fast, as you know. Controlling what you start may be impossible. Are you certain you want to do that?”

“Tell me of another way to defeat the guards by myself. Even if I was trained with a bow, getting arrows would be hard, and they could hole up in the guard shack, waiting till daylight and reinforcements. Eventually, I’d be surrounded, and while I trust my luck, I’m not sure I want to fight those odds.”

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

“You really want to do tonight?”

Standing, Grace nodded and tapped her forehead. “My brain tells me the best chance to get the bonus is at night. Only a few will be on guard, and the rest will be sleeping. At any other time, the guards will be spread out, making accomplishing both parts of that quest harder. As you said, it’s always worth getting extra rewards.”

Groaning, Max stood and watched the children at the other end of the garden. Their sounds of laughter and screaming brought a joy and peace he couldn’t find any other way.

“Fine,” Max said as he looked down at Grace. “I’ll go meet with a few other leaders. I am certain some will have what we need for you to start the fire.”

“Then I will collect the rocks I want and return to get Levi in bed. There’s only a few hours of light before it will get dark.”

Max nodded at her assessment and gently pushed her as he moved toward the exit nearest them. “You’re getting too smart too fast… just remember the Lord Knight isn’t like the other knights. He’ll do what he can to not fight you. All around him will be those willing to do his dirty work.”

Watching Max leave, Grace turned and saw Levi staring at her.

I need to get this over with.

Moving toward her brother, Grace tried to smile. Nothing about what she was going to do felt like something Levi would understand, but she had to try.

“What about this one?” Levi asked, holding up a piece of brick in both hands.

“Too big. How can I hold that in one if you need two hands?” Grace replied, grinning as her brother dropped it and helped her look for more stones.

“So… if someone told you who had poisoned everyone, what would you do to them?”

Levi frowned and stared at Grace. “That’s stupid. I’m too small to do anything.”

Rolling her eyes, Grace picked up a brick. Showing it to her brother before putting it in her bag. “Let’s say you weren’t too small. What would you do? Would you beat them up? Would you let me get away with killing and hurting the people you love? Would you kill them?”

“Kill them? That’s crazy!” Levi argued. “I couldn’t kill anyone! I doubt I could even hurt someone. Even when Purdano pushed me down a month ago and threatened to beat me up, I don’t think I could have ever hit him.”

Grace nodded. She knew her brother wasn’t one to get angry often. Getting him to see why she was doing what needed to be done was more challenging than she thought.

“What if they hurt me?”

Levi’s face turned dark, his eyebrows narrowing, and he clenched his jaw. “If who hurt you?”

“The same people that made our friends sick and killed some,” Grace replied. “What would you do to someone who hurt me?”

“I… I…” Levi paused, trying to figure out his response as he bent down and picked up a stone. Upset, he threw it at a house, watching it bounce off harmlessly. “I don’t know… I can’t hurt people since I’m small. I’d want to hurt them, but I can’t. Why?”

His response was about what she anticipated. Moving to where he was, Grace bent down and gently tapped Levi on his chest.

“Your heart hurts thinking about that, doesn’t it?”

He nodded, frowning at her. “I don’t know what I would do if you were gone.”

Grace grimaced at the pain of that truth, a constant reminder of why she was doing what she was.

“What if I told you I know who hurt our friends and who tried to hurt you? Would you be okay if I ensured they couldn’t do that to you or anyone else again?”

Levi’s dark brown eyes stared at her, lost at how his sister could do such a thing, knowing who the guards were and how big they were. They carried weapons and wore armor.

“I don’t want you to get hurt. Send Max or someone bigger.”

Nodding, Grace bent down and picked up a rock. “But what if I told you only I could make sure they couldn’t hurt anyone else? Not even Max or others can do what I can.”

Levi chuckled and shook his head. “What can you do that’s so special?” he asked, rolling his eyes.

“Watch.”

Grace took the large rock, knowing it was bigger than she wanted to use but doing so to prove a point. “Watch that wall over there.”

Laughing, Levi looked at the wall across the street and the stone in his sister’s hand. “There’s no way you can hit that from here!” he teased.

Setting down the bag of rocks she had been collecting, Grace stepped back and then hurled the rock at the wall.

It penetrated the outer wall of an abandoned house, crashing through it and a few more walls within. The noise of destruction echoed across the street, and Grace turned to see Levi standing there with his mouth open, staring at her and then the hole, his eyes moving back and forth rapidly.

“How?! Teach me!” he cried, running to her and grabbing a rock that was way too big for him out of the bag she had dropped.

Grace shook her head and kneeled before him. “I can’t,” she stated. “I have been given a gift and told I must do something, but it won’t be nice. I have to stop some people from coming here and hurting those we love…. From hurting you.”

Levi stood there, holding the rock in his hand, trembling as he watched his sister’s face. He could see that she was serious and was not playing a joke.

“You can’t teach me?”

Grace laughed, shaking her head and groaning. “That is all you got out of this? That I can’t teach you how to throw a rock like I did?”

“Why can’t I?” he demanded. “That’s not fair that you can!”

Groaning, Grace scanned the ground and picked up a rock about the size she wanted. “Tell you what. Throw the rock you have, and I’ll throw mine. After that, I’ll tell you why I can’t teach you.”

Frowning, Levi tried to get into position like she had been and then took a step forward, using every ounce of strength he had to lob the rock at the same wall. It traveled about eight feet before crashing into the road and rolling a few times.

Grace chuckled, and Levi turned, glaring at her. “That’s not funny! It’s not fair.”

“You’re right,” Grace said. “Now watch.”

She turned this time, making sure she was throwing in the northeast direction. Taking a few steps, she tossed the stone into the air out over town.

“Holy shite!” Levi said suddenly, and Grace spun around, seeing her brother focused more on the rock she had just made vanish instead of the words he had just said.

“What did you say?!”

Her tone and question made Levi look at his sister, and then he winced, knowing exactly the words he had just spoken.

“I… uh… copied what Stretch says a lot,” Levi muttered. “I’m sorry.”

Grace glared at her brother, watching him shift under her glare. Moving to where he was, she bent down and hugged him. After a moment, she moved him back a step and smiled softly.

“I won’t do anything to you for saying those words. Just try to not say them if you can. Ok?”

Levi nodded, looking perplexed at how easily his sister had let him off when she normally threatened to wash his mouth with dirty water.

“So, are you going to throw rocks at people?” he asked.

“I am… I need to make sure that those people never try to harm you or anyone else we care about again.”

Levi nodded and frowned for a few seconds. “Promise you won’t get hurt?”

“I’ll be safe, I promise.”

He nodded and smiled, moving quickly and giving her a hug.

“Make sure they can’t hurt anyone else again!” he exclaimed.

Grace nodded and squeezed her brother tight.

I promise…