Jamie tilted her head and looked at him. “Hmm?”
Hans rummaged through more scrolls. “Nope, my cousin is married to one. It’s just the ones who seek immortality that turn wicked.” Then he handed Master Edwards another wanted poster.
“Since ya training her, I’ve been wanting this one caught for a while. It’s a mystery though, needs someone with tracking magic and foresight. They think it’s a demon that enters ya dreams.”
“I’m afraid we won’t have time.” Master Edwards handed the poster back to Hans. “This witch here,” he pointed at the witch’s wanted poster, “I assume she’s probably the one that took the kids from this zone?”
“Right.” Hans nodded, and he pushed the poster back into Master Edward’s hands. “That witch was last spotted a few clicks from here. They need a child every month to stay alive, so based on the last confirmed kill. I bet my other eye, she's the one.”
Hans took a silver coin from his pocket and handed it to Jamie. “Jamie dear, hold on to this.”
Master Edwards tried to block the coin from Jamie’s touch.
Jamie touched the cold silver coin and looked at Master Edwards with a puzzled expression.
Hans smiled and released a sigh. “I can sleep better knowing ya got this one Lord Edwards and little Jamie.”
“Sir, I’m an adult,” Jamie said, with her already puffed-out chest. That sentence went pretty well! Good job for standing up for yourself, she thought, satisfied with herself.
“Hahahaha, so the both of ya…” He slammed his two pointer fingers together.
Jamie froze, unable to say anything as her face turned tomato red.
“Hahaha, working on it,” Master Edwards teased. He tucked the wanted posters into his coat pocket. “Thank you, Hans, but Jamie here is a contestant." He patted Han's shoulder.
“Ahh, so this one is for the General. My apologies Miss Jamie!” He patted Jamie on the back and she fell forward from the force. “Oops, sorry!”
Hans looked at Master Edwards with a twinkle in his eyes. “You behave yourself.”
Jamie bit her bottom lip as the two men laughed.
They stepped outside, the air still chilly with the occasional wind. Jamie happened to glance down at her yellow boots. “By the way, I have been meaning to ask you. Why am I still wearing my dwarf Rain Dragon boots? I thought it was only for when I can’t manage my mana enough to use transport portals.”
“When you can tell me the answer, you can wear whatever shoe you want.”
“What? I think I learn better when - ”
Master Edwards covered Jamie’s mouth. “Odd. She came for us.”
From the shadows of a nearby building by a wine barrel, a womanly figure emerged.
Jamie pushed his hand off and asked, “Is that the witch?”
"Me putting my hand over your lips isn't enough of a sign?"
The woman faced them, she stopped walking, and twirled a lock of her long wavy blonde hair, so long, it reached her butt. She had big doe-like eyes, full red lips, and a dangerous presence. “So that is the Pure Earth human?”
“Yes.”
Master Edwards turned to look at Jamie in disbelief.
Jamie pursed her lips. God, I am an idiot.
The witch glanced at Master Edwards and grinned.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he said and raised his palm.
“Wanna bet Veinham?” Before she could finish raising her palm. The thud of a body hitting the cobblestone road echoed through the air.
“Sorry Jamie, that was supposed to be your lesson, but it couldn't be helped. I miscalculated her moves. She had already set up some curse traps.” He raised his palm to open a transport portal. “It would’ve been too risky for you to fight her, all for the sake of practice. Rule #1 in a battle is...?”
Jamie stepped into the portal first. “You’re betting with your life, so don’t bet with your life.”
----------------------------------------
[One day before the kidnapped incident
Pure Earth - Year 2024
Jamie’s Apartment ]
Jamie turned the round brass deadbolt to the left and pulled the door toward her. The door didn’t open. Satisfied with her habitual security test, she grabbed the plastic grocery bag off the ground. Then she walked toward the kitchen from the bare living room; nothing on the walls, no sofa, no TV, not even a chair rested in the room.
“You’re late!”
“Sorry Mom,” Jamie said and started to unload fresh green onions, garlic, and Auntie Kinh’s Egg Roll wrappers. “They didn’t have Noah’s favorite wrappers at Nguyen’s, so I had to drive to the big market.”
A wrinkled hand shoved Jamie over and inspected the wrappers. “He would appreciate that,” Jamie's Mom said. “I’ve already made the stuffing. We just need to wrap them.”
Her 70-year-old mom grabbed the wrapper bag, and moved swiftly over to the island counter, with a big metal bowl of stuffing, spoons, and cutting boards. She pointed at a stool by the island counter. “Everything is ready, wash up, and start wrapping,” she said, and with experienced hands, she started to roll the pork egg rolls on a wooden cutting board as if her life depended on it.
Jamie looked at her Mom. Peppered hair, in a short pixie cut, on her chest was a stab wound scar. Her mom had attempted suicide after Noah’s accident, but she didn’t want to leave Jamie behind empty-handed. So her mom hired a drug addict to stab her. Her mom hoped Jamie could live the rest of her days off her life insurance money. The drug addict was not expecting so much blood and couldn’t finish the job. Her mom ended up in the hospital and then on suicide watch.
Jamie washed her hands.
“I love you, Jamie,” her mom said from the counter.
Jamie laughed, “Why that all of a sudden?”
“I don’t say that enough, especially not to Noah. I was too busy working,” she said.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Jamie walked over to her mother and hugged her tightly. Mom’s body feels so tiny and frail. Where did my big, strong, invincible mom go? Jamie thought. I guess no one can tell what time can bring with it…
The image of her mom shrieking, “STOP, don’t go there!” Despite her mom trying to reach him in time, six-year-old Noah already spilled coffee on their Aunt’s white wedding dress. Jamie rushed over as her Aunt nearly fainted from the shock as the ring boy looked up at her with big round eyes brimming with guilt.
A smile grew on Jamie’s face. In the kitchen, Jamie pressed her head closely on her mom’s shoulder and inhaled.“Stop it! He’s going to be so happy. We’re offering his favorite egg rolls tomorrow.”
She pulled her mother closer to her, “Now hug me! Turn away! You’re going to make the rolls all salty with your tears!”
Her mom laughed, “My tears are sweet, not salty!”
----------------------------------------
Present day…
[ Inside the Veinham Barrier
Day 1
Cave 3 (tail-end of the cave)]
I never made it back home, but I hope she still brought those egg rolls to his grave, Jamie thought as she spat out blood from her mouth. Her mana-cocooned body rapidly rolled toward the wall of the cave, from the force of Emo’s kick to her face. I can’t keep this up, healing magic is my weakest point and I can’t use it effectively. I’ll burn through my mana and charms before I can escape.
The contestants laughed.
A little more, I'm getting my mobility back. Sucks though, this hurts. But just a little more. Meanwhile, I can cast it. Just focus, Jamie said to herself.
Contestant #21 bent down and held Jamie by her hair. “Not so strong now, huh Vaseland?” She slammed Jamie’s face to the ground and then took Jamie’s crown of daisies and threw it onto the ground. She pressed her foot on the crown of daisies and rubbed it side to side, the flowers crushing under her foot.
She kicked the remnants of the crown of daisies to one side of the cave, while Jamie lay face-down on the ground, different small streams of blood flowed from her face. I should’ve just been on the offensive but… I have Benny and Henry here. Damn-it! That was a terrible miscalculation. I can't play it safe, even if they're here.
In the shadows of the cave, Jamie’s crown of daisies slowly regenerated and laid there, like new once more.
Emo turned her attention back to Jamie.
Blinka sat on a nearby boulder fanning herself with a plain white, paper fan. She sensed the blood lust again. “Emo, don’t kill her.”
Emo released an exasperated sigh and threw her hands in the air.
Jamie licked her lips. I need to move things along. Think! Think! Loudly, she said, “Why are you doing this to me?”
Blinka stood up and walked over to Jamie’s bleeding body on the wet, rough, and dirty cave ground. “Because you’re a Vaseland. Do you know who killed my parents?”
“Not me, you bitch!” Jamie screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Don’t you DARE!” Emo rushed over to grab Jamie by her hair.
Blinka raised her mage staff and slammed it down, momentarily disrupting Emo’s anger. “How many times have you touched her?”
“This is the second.” Emo then paused. “HAHAHA,” she held in her stomach as she laughed.
“You can’t seriously think she mastered the mind eye’s gift of level 3 mana manipulation. Ha! Look at her! She’s wearing dwarf Rain Dragon boots, what is she? 6? Everyone knows you only wear that to help with transportation magic because you can’t stabilize mana.”
Jamie lay there and closed her eyes. All warfare is based on deception… Thank you, Master Edwards. I will not fail you or… my mom. Then she swallowed her spit. It’s now or never, I am a killer. A killer kills.
Blinka stroked her staff. “She did kill those two, they were at your mana level Emo.”
Emo roughly released her grip on Jamie’s hair. “Those two are nowhere near my level. Now what should we do with her?”
Blinka poked Jamie with her mage staff and pouted. “I don’t know. This was rather uneventful.”
Emo licked her front tooth as she pondered, she turned to Blinka. “We could always hold her hostage for the Vaseland to pay up. Or sell her to anybody, she's valuable as the chosen one for the Vaselands.” Then Emo started to walk away from Jamie and toward Contestant #21.
“We could have a shapeshifter have a go at her,” Contestant #21 said, and slyly grinned.
What?! Who talks like that? I didn't do anything to them. Why are they so evil? Jamie thought as she lay there.
“We would love that,” the blonde contestant, previously faked captive, said. The other two contestants who previously faked imprisonment also nodded.
Emo rubbed Contestant #21’s shoulders. “That’s not a bad idea. But selling her would be worth more. If she's pregnant, that'll dramatically decrease the price.”
“Fuck you,” Jamie muttered.
“What?” Emo asked rhetorically and held her hand to her ear to mock Jamie.
“I said FUCK YOU! And FUCK your STUPID ASS PRINCESS…What’s her name? Was it BLIND-ASS!!!” Jamie shrieked.
The contestants’ jaws dropped in silence, while Blinka laughed.
“Don’t,” Blinka said, as Emo once more rushed over to the captured Jamie still faced down on the ground, blood still leaking out of her.
Emo kicked mana-cocooned Jamie against the cava wall. Almost there, Jamie thought.
As Jamie bounced off the cave wall on impact, Emo grabbed Jamie’s head and slammed her knee into Jamie’s stomach.
In that split second, Emo’s pupils flashed white as Jamie fell to the ground.
Emo took out her dagger and skillfully cut through the mana cocoon on Jamie, releasing her. Then with the same dagger, Emo promptly stabbed through her right temple and died instantly.
As Jamie rolled to her side something caught her eye. My crown! Woah, so lucky, she thought. Focus now! She snatched her daisy crown mid-row, placed it on her head, and jumped back up with a smile.
Immediately, Contestant #21 slammed her calf down on Jamie, who blocked the kick with both her arms as she sank a foot through the rocky ground. Contestant #21 then slashed at her with a dagger, Jamie grabbed the arm wielding the dagger and pulled her close. I got you, Jamie thought.
Jamie quickly pulled Contestant #21’s arm toward herself and turned it, dislocating it, and with her free hand whipped a mana thread around her neck.
THUMP! Blood jetted everywhere from Contestant #21’s fallen head on the ground.
Blinka tightened her grip on her mage staff. “Fuck,” she thought. She raised her mage staff and before she could lower it, Jamie slashed the staff using what appeared like a new weapon, an Elvish Qiang Spear, allowing Jamie to reach Blinka at a distance of 3 meters.
Blinka’s eyes widened as she discovered the truth about the katanas Jamie was carrying. Then she felt the colossal blood lust from Jamie, who managed to close their gap during the surprise attack.
Jamie focused on Blinka’s throat. I need to finish her or I might not get the chance again, she’s too powerful, she thought as she closed in.
In her shock, Blinka lost her footing on a small rock and fell backward, narrowly missing getting pierced in the throat by Jamie.
Jamie pursed her lips. Damn-it! Jamie thought as she leaped backward a few meters to dodge a few dozen mana daggers aimed at her head.
Instantly, Blinka was protected by the remaining contestants.
“Don’t let her touch you with that spear, it’s a new Elvish trick. It’ll consume all your mana,” Blinka warned.
“Shit, does that mean,” Contestant #62 asked.
“Yeah, I have no mana right now,” Blinka said. “A sly trick for sly creatures such as the Elves. The katanas, they’re two parts of a whole. They make up the infamous Elvish Qiang Spear.”
Jamie looked at Blinka. Of course, she’ll deduce that, but for her to know about the weapon. She’s knowledgeable. Master Edwards told me this weapon is extremely rare, so rare that it became a weapon of legend.
“Just a tap from it and it’ll lock in on your mana wavelength and suck it right out. The elves locked it so only pure Elvish hands could use it. I thought there was only one left in the world, the one the King owns,” Blinka said and smiled. “If you can get that weapon from her, there will be a big reward.”
“AHAHAH!” The cry broke the silent stare-down.
The kids! Jamie thought. She blasted a ring of fire from her hand. The small ring of fire explosively expanded and engulfed the contestants as Jamie sprinted toward the cry of Benny and Henry.