Bacorium Legacy (36 page)

“I did not,” Luca said, deciding there was no sense in lying about it. Things were already beyond his control - in fact, they had never really been in his control in the first place. “Dreevius stabbed me through the heart, but I did not die.”

The boy had wonder in his eyes. “But - how?”

“I am not certain.”

“The others have been speaking of you. When we were on the road, some believed you had died in the attack. I told them they were wrong. I wanted to believe - and I was right.”

Luca sighed, feeling weary.

“I will tell the others,” the boy said. “I will tell them of the immortal son of Lodin!” The boy ran off excitedly, before Luca could stop him.

He sighed again, wondering what he had started.

<> <> <>

Luca returned to Emila after that, who smiled in relief that he was okay when she saw him. He sat beside her, feeling tired from the long and eventful day - hours of travel, followed by the capture at the inn, and their rescue.

“What happened out there?” Emila asked him quietly.

“I found Dreevius,” he replied. “I killed him.”

That was all he needed to say. No need to fill her in on the details - like how Dreevius had impersonated her, or the cruel way Luca had killed him. She'd been through enough tonight without knowing those things.

“Are you alright?” she asked, the usual concern in her eyes.

“Just tired.”

And then, Emila did something he was not expecting. She wrapped her arms around him in a warm hug. She smiled, and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He wasn't sure what she was thanking him for, but he accepted her embrace. In any other situation, it would have felt awkward to him, but no one was watching and he was too tired to reject her.

Besides, she was warm, and the night was cold.

After a minute or so, she released him. They sat in silence by the edge of the tent, while Selphie and Jared spoke quietly. Brand was off with Tranom somewhere, and Ash was nowhere in sight. For the moment, it was just the two of them, and that was okay.

Then, a blond-haired girl was suddenly in front of them, beaming.

“Hello,” said Wiosna. “I'm glad to see you're all alright.”

Selphie and Jared walked over, and they both bowed. “On behalf of the kingdom of Sono, I thank you for what you've done,” Selphie said. “By rescuing us, you've likely prevented a war. We are in your debt.”

Wiosna blushed and waved her hand. “I wouldn't have just left you to them. Really, it's Ash who deserves the real credit. He found us and told us what happened.”

Luca frowned.

That reminded him of something he hadn't had the chance to think on yet. Ash had fled from the inn, likely after realising that the Tranom they were talking with was false. But he had not gone to warn Selphie and the others as he'd said he was. So while he had eventually come across the Allmans and led them to back to save everyone, the question remained as to whether that was his intention all along, or if he had simply found them while attempting to flee and save his own life.

Luca had brought the question up briefly when Ash had saved them, but he had given no answer.

Though he didn't want to admit it, the truth was that Luca simply did not know Ash well enough to trust him.

Wiosna then said to Selphie, “We couldn't let these Acarians run free after what they did, much less after we learnt they took you.”

“Are you in charge of this group?” Selphie asked.

“It would seem so,” Wiosna said. “After Tranom led us out of the temple, he stayed behind in the woods to hold them off while we escaped. There wasn't really anyone else in our group who was willing to take charge, so I took over while he was gone. Our plan was to meet up with him later, but he never showed up.”

“At Kasma?” Luca suggested. “Specifically, at the inn?”

Wiosna nodded slowly.

“Perhaps it was a stroke of good fortune that we got there first,” Luca muttered grimly. They all exchanged silent glances, the same thought on their minds.

“It seems Dreevius was able to escape into the woods...” Wiosna said in a funny voice.

“He did, but I followed him,” Luca told her. “I took care of him.”

Wiosna smiled knowingly. “Is that right? That's fantastic. In that case, we don't need to stay here.”

“Do you have a camp of your own?” Selphie asked.

“We do. It's not as big as this one, but nobody here wants to sleep in an Acarian tent. So we're taking what we can and heading back there. I trust you will be joining us?”

“I would be honoured to be your guest,” Selphie said humbly.

Wiosna turned to Luca, giving him a strangely warm smile. “Let's get going, then.”

He had a strange feeling about her, like she knew something she wasn't telling them.

<> <> <>

The Allman company of fifty or so, and Luca's group, finished gathering what they could from the Acarian camp and prepared to depart. Before they left, Luca slipped off on his own one last time, going to Dreevius' now-empty tent.

In the middle, there was a desk where the Acarian acolyte had left various maps, letters, and battle plans. Beside it, on a shelf, was a small caged bird which was untouched by the fire. It fluttered about in its cage, and blinked at Luca as he approached.

On the desk, Luca spotted a half-written letter, describing the attack against the temple, and its success. It was just beginning to get to the part of Selphie's capture when it ended abruptly.

Luca turned to the bird. “I'm afraid you'll be delivering a different message.”

He sat down at the desk, discarded the unfinished note, and took a fresh piece of parchment and a pen. He wrote a single sentence across it.

Luca then withdrew the small, severed finger from his coat pocket, wrapped it up in the note, and returned to the bird cage. The raven squawked as he took it out, but he was able to settle it long enough to tie the small letter around its leg.

Luca then carried the bird outside.

“Now go back to Acaria.”

He released the bird, which took off into the air. It flew up high, and drifted off towards the mountains in the east.

<> <> <>

They made their way through the woods and back to the road, walking in a process of about three or so abreast. Luca walked beside Emila and Brand, with Wiosna, Selphie, and Tranom before them, talking about the princess' plans to return to T'Saw. Jared strode behind him, as silent as always.

A few rows away, Ash was walking with his arms crossed. He noticed Luca looking over at him, and met his stare. His expression said nothing. Luca turned away.

There was little to talk about as they walked. Everyone was tired, and the Allman camp was a few kilometres from where they were. They made good time, though, and before they knew it, they had arrived.

The camp was much humbler than the Acarian one had been, with only six tents. There was a large fire in the centre, which was watched over by two Allmans who had stayed behind, and around that were many sleeping bags.

Wiosna promised a tent to Selphie, which Selphie in turn offered to share with Emila. Before they left, Emila wished Luca a good night.

Brand muttered the same, and he went to go find a comfortable spot by the fire. Jared and Ash and the other Allmans all went and found things to do, and Tranom tossed his bag down by a tree and used it as a pillow.

Feeling rather tired, Luca was about to do the same when he felt Wiosna's hand on his shoulder. She cocked her head over to one of the tents, with a look that said she wanted to talk with him.

Seeing no reason to decline, Luca followed her over to the tent. Wiosna looked over the camp quickly, to make sure no one was looking, and then she grabbed his hand and pulled him inside. At that moment, it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn't be doing what he was doing.

“What is it?” he asked her.

Wiosna unbuckled her breastplate, and pulled it off, now wearing only a white robe of Allma Temple, soiled by dirt and blood. “You have had a rough night. You deserve to sleep somewhere comfortable.”

“No rougher than any of the others.”

Wiosna shook her head and said, “No need to be modest. Go on and take that heavy coat off and relax.”

“You want me to sleep here?”

“What do you think I invited you in here for?”

A thousand ideas went through Luca's mind. If anyone saw them, there was only one thing that they would think - the same thing anyone thinks when they see a boy and girl going off somewhere alone. But there was no chance that was what she had in mind, she clearly just wanted him to sleep there. Yeah. Definitely.

Which, if he did, would be the second time he had slept in a tent while the other male members of his group were out in the cold.

Wiosna blushed and laughed, looking away shyly. “There nothing wrong with you sleeping in here with me. I know you won't try anything.”

“I still don't think this is the best idea,” he insisted. “I should go back outside with the others.”

“Please,” she asked, giving him an adorable pleading look. “I didn't come to save you just so you could go lie in the dirt.”

He turned back around. There was something off about what she'd said. “You didn't come back for me. You came back to save Selphie and Tranom.”

“They were important, sure,” she said. “Especially the princess. But you were the one I was really worried about. When your brother told me they had you, I feared the worst, and it worried me until the moment we found you.”

“But - why?”

Wiosna shrugged. “Who can say? Sometimes we feel things we don't fully understand. The 'normal' view of emotion is too narrow, and too often inaccurate. Feeling an emotion whose origin you can't identify does not make it wrong. That's just what I felt. I was worried about you the most.”

“I suppose I can understand that.” Indeed, too often he felt things like that about Emila.

“Come. Sit down.”

He didn't want to insult her, which he realised that his leaving would at this point, so he took off his heavy fur coat and sat down. There were two bedrolls in the tent, he noticed.

“You were expecting me this whole time?”

“All the other tents have two in them.”

“Ah.”

Wiosna sat down on her side of the tent, stretching and cracking her neck. “There has been talk about you.”

“That I cannot die?” he guessed.

“Some of the students claim they saw what happened at the temple,” she said, her eyes wide with interest. “Is it true?”

He nodded.

She smiled excitedly. “How?”

“I'm not sure how it works, exactly.” It was as much as he could say. He didn't want many people to know about the tether with Emila. After what had happened with Dreevius, he worried for her safety now more than ever.

“So - if I were to stab you and cut you open, you would not die?” Wiosna asked, her eyes full of excitement. Her breath had quickened a bit. “No matter what sort of injury I inflicted, you would not disappear?”

“I would prefer you didn't do those things, but no, I would not.”

“That's - incredible,” she said. “You have quite a gift.”

He frowned. It wasn't really a gift. In fact, it was something he shouldn't have at all. If he were a better warrior, he wouldn't continually find himself in these life-threatening situations.

“What - what did it feel like?” she asked bashfully.

“I'm sorry?”

“When he stabbed you.”

Luca sat back for a moment, thinking about it. “Well, it was different each time.”

“Each time...?”

“Er, yes. He stabbed me again when we were being held, also in the heart.”

Wiosna shook her head disapprovingly. “What a piece of work.”

“Indeed. In any case, the first time I didn't really feel anything. Everything just went cold and I couldn't move for a while. I honestly thought I was dead for a while, but then I realised I was still breathing. The second time - well, that was just excruciatingly painful.”

He remembered Emila, and how she had screamed and thrashed around, feeling the same thing he felt. He hadn't cried out, but she had - likely because she wasn't used to such pain. It hurt him when he thought about that, and he hated that it was the result of his foolishness that had led to her feeling that pain. Deep down, he knew it wasn't his fault, but he could not relieve himself of the feeling of guilt gnawing at him.

“I thought you died back in the attack,” Luca said to Wiosna. “I saw your glasses on the ground, half-crushed by an Acarian boot.”

“Ah yes, my glasses. I'll have to get a new pair when we get to a city. I mostly use them for reading, but things do look a little fuzzy right now.”

“You look better without them,” he said.

Her cheeks flushed red. “Oh, stop it.”

“You were quite the fighter back there,” he continued. “And you've been leading the survivors, as well. I must admit, I'm surprised. When we first spoke I'd thought you just a quiet scholar.”

Wiosna smiled. “I have a passion for books. I've read ever since I was a child. It was great, because no matter how bad things got, I always had my books to keep me company. I could escape into them.”

“I read a lot, too,” Luca admitted. “My father and I were always travelling, and he would always get new books for me when we reached a new town. Mostly fiction, but I did quite enjoy learning the Way of Uro.”

She looked up, surprise and perhaps a bit of worry in her eyes. “Are you a follower of the Way?”

He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. Perhaps once he could have called himself that in truthfulness. But after tonight - after what he had done to Dreevius...

“I once admired it, but it's an impossible ideal.”

Wiosna nodded. “I agree. I've met a few who followed the Way so strictly they would die before they violated one of the rules. They were bitter, sad shells who gave everything they had and received nothing in return. People took advantage of their generosity when they wanted to, and mocked them any other time. Nobody cared for them, not even themselves.”

“It is certainly a hard life.”