----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
ENVY
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
“You little son of a bitch!" Kat shouted at the man in black. "Quit running!”
He scaled a single story building and ran across the roof. Kat pursued him through the alleyways. He jumped down the opposite side, and she followed him out into a wide open space. She sheathed her dagger and pulled out throwing knives between her knuckles. Ah, shit.
WHOOSH!
A knife flew past her face, but she dodged it without a scratch. Kat whistled. "Copycat." Seems he’s got more tricks up his sleeves, but he keeps going for kill shots. Dodge this, asshole. She flung three knives at him with one thrust.
He raised his black trench coat to absorb the blows, and her throwing knifes clinked to the ground. The hell? Armor that looks like plain clothes? She sprinted toward him to close the distance. Better trap him in close quarters. If he thinks he can kill me, he probably doesn't know who I am.
Keep it that way. Kat hesitated—Whiskers had never spoken in her mind like that before. No one had, not even Jules.
The man raised a loaded crossbow, just barely visible underneath his trench coat. The bolt grazed her cheek.
Focus, you fool, Whiskers thought.
Stop distracting me, you idiot! Kat fled and drew her dagger again. She turned a corner and, safe from his line of sight, opened her shirt and cut herself shallowly from her navel up to between her breasts. Bubbling green acid trickled out with her blood. Regeneration should prioritize that wound. The man in black maintained the gap. Bastard refuses to play my game, eh?
Ew. Kat shuddered, reminded of The Painter. Gross. Gross gross gross.
Kat avoided more throwing knives while she searched for a better spot to fight. The bridge. As she ran onto it, Cyrus jumped off. A masked woman followed him down below. No time to chase after him. He’ll be fine. Thank Salvos this bridge is moving. She stopped near the center, where Cyrus had jumped.
The man approached her cautiously and looked around. Kat sprinted at him before he could gain another advantage, of height or distance. He leapt onto the railing ledge and escaped her grappling attempt at the last moment.
Coward. Close combat not gonna cut it. She flung her hair in her face to hide her Seal and stomped her foot. Her eyes and Seal glowed gray.
> « Stone » [₹7,800 // ₹10,000]
Kat stole a page out of Cy's book and hopped off the bridge's ledge. Instead of diving into the water, she flipped around and grabbed some stone monkey bars that’d just formed from her Script. She swung across the remainder of the bridge and watched Cyrus struggle below.
Guards approached him from her side. Moron. I need to get one of those bows. Dammit. I hate Archery—
A fourth arrow struck Cyrus in the back. Shit, I really hate Archery.
> « Air » [₹7,300 // ₹10,000]
Her Rune deflected arrows away from Cyrus until she reached the end of the now-docked bridge. You’re on your own again, kid. She dropped down, out of sight of the Guards that had advanced past her, and ran toward the closest Smithy she could recall. At least I have the home field advantage.
She knocked someone over in front of the Smithy's shop, drawing attention, and swiped a bow and quiver from an outdoor rack. Some do-gooder folk cried for the Guards. Kat ran to where she figured Cyrus would emerge. Two Guards blocked her path, and she introduced each one of them to the ground and an arrow to the knee.
Kat, we have a plan.
Wait, that’s not Whiskers… Jules? W-Wait—Jules!? How long have—
Get to the docks. Different ship than planned.
Kat altered course for the docks and ran to her friends, for her secret identity, and for her life. I hope Jules isn't in my mind, reading my thoughts. No, don't think about it.
You can't not think about it, Whiskers thought, while trying to not think about it.
If you want a third tail, keep talking, Kat threatened.
I'm not speaking, he replied.
Great. I needed a distraction. Oh, great—Oh, crap.
If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Mania gripped the city. People ran past her, the opposite way, shrieking and carrying children. Behind the next set of building, cannons and ballista cracked through the air. A massive explosion nearby shook the earth and sent her and everyone around her to the ground. Jules, that still you?
Just run, Jules replied. Don’t look back.
Whiskers, you better be OK.
Chaos surrounded her, as did shouting, more explosions, and even crumbling buildings, but at last she made it to the docks.
“OK, which ship!? Oh.” She looked up at a sail, which blazed with the number 1, just like her Seal. “Subtle.” She hopped aboard and stepped between dozens of men knocked out cold. “Whiskers, Rukia!" Kat ran over and hugged the black cat. Cyrus laid down nearby. He had five arrows in him that emerged from all angles and had already started healing himself. She rubbed her cheek. And all I got was this scratch.
“Worry about Cy later," Rukia ordered. "We’re setting sail.”
“Where’s Jules?” Kat asked.
Cyrus pointed back to the nearest square, and Kat realized why Jules had told her not to look back. Jules towered over a few buildings that blocked her view of his legs, but he stood four or five stories tall. Black flames surrounded him, and he howled at the sky.
“Oh no, Jules… You didn’t.”
Kat collapsed to her knees.
"So this is what happened in Coralhaven? Those poor people…"
“Rukia, power the sails,” Cyrus said. He threw a bag at the fox. “That’s all the profit I’ve made, should last awhile.”
“We can’t leave without him, Cy!” Kat cried. “Rukia—What are you doing? How could you?”
Rukia used the recharged Ryoku Crystals the boys had stolen—stolen twice, once from Isolda, and once from Kat—and the fox didn’t so much as look back for her master when she pushed them off from the docks with her stubby legs.
“Look.” Cyrus pointed at their recently departed dock, which grew farther and farther away.
Kat couldn’t believe her eyes. She saw Jules, the real Jules, sprinting at them for dear life, the fear of Salvos in his eyes, butt cheeks fully clenched and bulging bug eyes. Kat’s heart fluttered. “How…?” No time. “Full speed ahead. Use it all!”
Kat nocked an arrow and charged up a string of Runes.
> « Rope » « Hook » « Reinforce » « Speed » [₹4,900 // ₹10,000]
She looked at Aquilantis as they sailed away, as it shrank in the background of her vision, of her life. “Sorry, Pop. I’ll see you again some day.”
Kat shot the arrow clean through Jules’ chest. She commanded the arrow to splinter out the back side, into a clawed hook, and then she reinforced the structure. Kat watched, slightly amused, as the rope from the deck drug his scrawny ass through the water. She reeled him in as fast as she could. From what she'd heard of him, Kat couldn’t help but think that maybe Jules’ father would be proud of her in this moment.
Jules’ body bounced and skipped and flailed on the surface until it finally submerged and stayed under. After a while, Kat dragged his corpse up aboard. She slapped his face to wake him up.
"Jules!" Rukia shouted. "You looked just like a tuna! Hey, we got any tuna? I love tuna."
"Shut up and sail," Whiskers yelled back.
"And don't fall asleep this time!" Cyrus added.
Life returned to him, and Jules coughed and hacked up water.
“Jules, you made it," Kat said. "Now what’s next in your brilliant plan?”
He grabbed her arm for leverage to get up, and accidentally grazed her breast in the motion. Kat resisted the urge to slap him dead again. He looked to the harbor and grabbed her hand in his and aimed their open palms at the docks. “Not all of that was an illusion."
> « Fire »
>
> [₹1,300 // ₹10,000]
The harbor, and the all the ships in it, erupted into flames. Kat fueled Jules' Script with her own Ryoku, but eventually Jules ran out of his own, and the life in his eyes faded away.
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
JULES
----------------------------------------
----------------------------------------
Jules awoke on the deck and propped himself up on a forearm. He squinted at the sun and put his fist between it and the horizon. It was a perfect fit. Hour til nightfall.
“Where?” he asked.
“Nice of you to finally join us,” Katarina said.
“Ruke?”
“Who else could sail this monstrosity?” Katarina sat next to him. She studied a map of the Shattered Isles, though he suspected she’d been watching over him for some time.
“Are you our Navigator now?”
“You could have told me the whole plan at once.” She rolled up the map and smacked him on the head with it.
“Ow!" Jules put an arm out to ward off another attack. "Well, I acted on it as it came to mind, so there wasn’t much time.”
“She was worried she’d lost you,” Whiskers said.
“No. I was worried he’d lost himself, is all.”
“Nope. Just of one of Cy’s illusions.” Jules rubbed his temples. “Pretty good for being on the brink of death. How is he?”
“Chipper as fuck.” Cy!?
Jules shot up too quickly and groaned from the pain. Cyrus hobbled over to them. He was heavily bandaged, and a makeshift sling supported one arm. A broken piece of the ship served him as a cane. Jules burst out laughing at the sight.
“Chipper as fuck? More like you tried to fuck a wood chipper!”
“Ugh. Men.”
“Please, don’t make me laugh,” Cyrus said, doubled over. “I don’t want Whiskers to see me cry.”
“Like ours, that ship has sailed,” Whiskers said. “I heard how you went to bed most nights during training.”
WHACK!
Whiskers shot into the air. He soothed his bottom with his front two paws, where Cyrus' cane had just left a bump.
Jules grabbed Katarina’s arm as she got up to leave. He couldn’t look her in the eye. “Kat, I’m sorry." She tilted her head at him. "You didn’t get to say goodbye.”
She lingered for a moment. Her elbow fit perfectly in his palm.
“Today," she said. "I didn’t get to say goodbye today.” She gently removed her arm and looked out toward the sea. Jules couldn’t get up to see it, but imagined her eyes rested on Aquilantis.
“How’s everyone been holding up?” Jules asked.
“Sad for Katarina. Traumatized for myself.” Whiskers licked a paw, then rubbed his lumpy ass again with a wince.
“I’m regretting my Skill choices right now," Katarina said. "I was no match for that guy.”
Gingerly, Cyrus sat down next to Jules. It took him a full minute. “Ahh, sweet relief. I feel confused, Jules. I hope we weren’t betrayed.”
“I’m similarly concerned about how the Maidens knew about our whereabouts,” Whiskers said.
“Please speak plain Common. We know you’re uneducated like the rest of us.” Whiskers hissed at Cyrus. “The Painter left with a bad taste in all our mouths. Hate to think it was him.” You looked crushed, Cy.
“Uh, about that…”
Katarina rolled up her map again. Cyrus thumped his cane in his hand.
“Jules,” Katarina threatened, “what did you do?”
******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******
54
******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******