The sudden attack left no time for Mila to think. She used Zemny’s dead carcass as a platform to jump away from Oscars’s opaque tentacle’s thrust. She felt cold sweat run down her back as another one of the teen’s emotional limbs almost hit her feet.
Mila crashed into the web of still roots and branches, barely catching herself before falling through the ruined floors of the building. She looked at the bastard sword with longing. It would have been an excellent weapon against Oscar.
But the boy destroyed it by breaking the blade, realising the same. “Finally, I got you.” The tentacles on his back flared like a peacock trying to show off. “You are not getting away this time.” He swore.
Mila considered Oscar while fishing out the dagger she had hidden just a moment ago. Her anger was flaring as the memories of Isabel’s still body came crashing back. Even now, her girl was…
The boy had to pay with his life. Mila gritted her teeth, raining in her flaring temper. While her killing intent was focused on Oscar, she couldn’t forget about his babysitter. She extended her senses as far as possible, scanning for the Inquisitor.
Now that Zemny was dead and had effectively disarmed her, Mila finally could hear the battles occurring throughout the city. The remaining guards were putting up a good fight.
On the side - where the city walls were, Mila saw a stream of fire splash against a barrier. They were still trapped. She could only hope Naran’s and Helly’s subordinates had managed to make an escape path out of the city.
The more Mila focused, the more obvious the absence of Astra became. She relaxed her jaw, gripping the black dagger tighter in her palm. This was a chance…
With the changes Mila had gone through, she could do it. She could kill him. Every part of her body was telling her to stab the boy.
The crow called for Oscar to stop. They tried to explain Mila had helped. When he didn’t back down, they started to jeer and curse him.
“SILENCE! SHE IS A CRIMINAL” Oscar didn’t take it well. One of his transparent whips lashed out and struck the edge of the remaining rooftop, sending debris into the crowd. “SHE KILLED MUNNY! TONIGHT SHE DIES!”
It was enough to scare the simple folk into retreat. Just like that, the crowd was coved. While Zemny had scarred them, he had turned into a simple monster. Oscar, on the other hand, had reasons for his rage.
Mila didn’t feel like wasting words on a corpse. She stepped onto the roots, then sunk behind them, breaking the line of sight. She erased herself from Oscar’s perception…
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Or tried. Mila jumped back as Oscar moved forward and sliced through her cover. She used the moment to poke the strange tentacle extending from the boy with her blade.
The dagger sunk into the appendage without resistance. Mila watched Oscar’s face just as he studied her. There was no reaction. She couldn’t cut these things.
And Oscar was adamant about not letting Mila out of his sight. Despite Mila’s efforts, she couldn’t find a place where she could hide to renew her spell.
It appeared Oscar knew enough to keep watching her. He probably had for a while before making his move. All of his attacks were decisive, even suicidal at times.
Mila tried to send some rocks towards the boy, prodding his defences, but they were all destroyed before reaching his skin. The dangerous ones were disintegrated by the tentacles. But not all attacks had the same fate. She noticed a slight sheen around his body.
It wasn’t quite a barrier. At least not like the ones Isabel made. This one…
Mila squinted. This barrier seemed to be more sinister. Oscar’s expression grew more unhinged. The corner of his lips twitched as he started to whisper obscenities aimed at Mila and Isabel.
Whatever the method was, Mila guessed it had saved him before from the corrupting forces. He felt clean to her senses. Mostly anyway. She guessed it was the same with Steven. And Viola had her blessing to rely on. Her most important people were likely all safe from the evil influence.
After several attempts, Mila finally managed to slip out of the annoying boy’s sight by dropping through a hole in the floor made by Zemny’s roots. She ran towards the window, wanting to exit through it and then try to flank him.
Only for Mila’s instincts to blare. She forcefully twisted her foot to change direction, barely avoiding a sudden downwards-thrusting tentacle.
The tip of Mila’s nose tingled from the wind the attack had raised. It had almost scraped her face. She threw herself back, avoiding more tentacles.
To say Mila was shocked was an understatement. She couldn’t understand how the boy was tracking her. He clearly did it somehow, despite her efforts to vanish.
It was annoying. Mila didn’t have time to waste. She just wanted to kill him and take Isabel to run away. But it proved to be impossible.
No matter how Mila tried, she couldn’t lose him. And the more annoyed she became, the more accurate Oscar was.
It was emotions.
Mila held back the tongue click. She suddenly understood very well what the unmentionable being had meant by calling ‘The Children of Destiny’ annoying to deal with.
Even with her power-up, Mila was incapable of besting Oscar in a direct fight. She tried again and again but was always found.
And this way, Mila couldn’t even see him, making dodging that much harder. She was only frustrating herself.
Mila didn’t remember the boy being this annoying previously. She finally gave up on trying to get close to him.
After dodging a few more attacks, Mila retread to where she had last seen Isabel. It was becoming too dangerous to stay. She guestimated the Inquisitors would be done fighting the remaining Noble forces soon.