Bacorium Legacy (44 page)

“I doubt that killed him, but I would be surprised if he was still conscious,” Wiosna said. “Either way, he's not going anywhere. You would need superhuman strength to climb out of that.”

“Thank you for helping me,” Emila said, with a grateful smile.

“I didn't have much of a choice,” Wiosna muttered dryly. “You weren't going to protect yourself.”

Emila's eyes widened, and she turned away, looking at the floor in shame.

“I'm sorry. I-I can't...”

“You can't kill. I know.” Wiosna went over to Emila and looked her in the eye. Emila could not turn away from her intense gaze. “But here's the thing. This mission is no place for someone like you. In fact, this world is no place for someone like you. There's only two types of people out there - those who want something from you, and those who want to kill you. A person like you, who only wants to make friends and doesn't want to hurt anyone - you have no place in Bacoria, and much less a place here with us. It is human nature to kill. I know that better than anyone. Peace is just a pipe dream of those who do not understand the world.”

“Do you not agree with Selphie's mission?” Emila asked her.

 “I was hired to help her. Whether I agree with her goals or not is irrelevant.”

Emila looked at her for a moment, and then her gaze returned to the floor, full of sorrow and shame. She wasn't thinking of herself, or Wiosna, but of Luca. She thought of how he had spoken of Wiosna earlier in the night, of how easily he was able to relate to her. Was this the kind of person that he connected with?

Wiosna's words meant nothing to her. Emila refused to believe that humanity was nothing but killers. She had seen enough of it to know otherwise. But Luca could believe something like that.

“You're only going to hurt him,” Wiosna said to her. “You're the worst kind of person he could have around.”

Emila looked up slowly, staring at Wiosna incredulously, as though she could not believe the other girl had just said that. And then, she suddenly found herself filled with an anger she rarely felt. Before she could stop herself, her hand was moving.

Wiosna stumbled back a moment later, her hand on her cheek where Emila had slapped her. She had dropped her sword.

“You're wrong,” Emila said to her in a low voice.

Wiosna stared back at Emila for a moment, then she charged at the other girl and tackled her right off her feet. Emila cried out as they went flying backwards, falling onto the pile of books. Emila's eyes widened in shock as she realised that Wiosna's hands were wrapped tight around her throat.

The cute blond-haired bookworm was gone, replaced by a savage, bloodthirsty killer. Behind the glasses she wore, Wiosna's eyes were wide, her pupils just tiny black dots. There was a smile on her face, that was slowly growing into a terrifying grin.

“P-please,” Emila choked out.

“You're in the way,” Wiosna whispered to her, tightening her grip just a bit more. “Sssh, it'll all be over soon.”

Emila was growing lightheaded. She started to panic. She struggled to break free, but the other girl was straddling her and pinning her down, and Wiosna was much stronger than Emila was from her many years of training. Emila tried to summon up her mana, to form some kind of weapon, but she couldn't concentrate enough to make the proper weaves.

Her hand found something and instinctively grabbed it. A very thick doorstopper book. That would work.

Emila brought the book down on the top of Wiosna's head, with as much strength as she could swing it with. The other girl cried out and fell back, releasing her grip.

Emila dropped the book and desperately crawled away from Wiosna, coughing and gasping for breath. The other girl collapsed on the pile of books, holding her head and moaning.

“W-what is w-wrong with you?!” Emila managed to shout at her.

Wiosna looked up at her slowly, her eyes half-closed. She looked confused.

“I - I just...”

She never got to finish, because at that moment a thick, muscular arm burst out of the pile of books and grabbed Wiosna's arm. She cried out in panic, and tried to pull away, but she could not.

Wiosna looked to her sword, lying on the floor several metres from where she was. She reached out for it, despite the futility of the act. Now, rather than Emila's, it was her face that was full of panic.

Emila did not even hesitate. Still coughing, she climbed to her feet and ran to where the sword was. She grabbed the blade and tossed it over to where Wiosna was.

Trunda's head began to rise out of the pile of books. There was a cold fury in his eyes. Still holding Wiosna, his other arm emerged next, still holding his sword. He swung it down.

Wiosna caught her sword, and tried to block Trunda's attack, but she wasn't fast enough. The Acarian's sword struck her, aimed for her throat, but luckily she was able to move enough to take the blow in the shoulder.

Emila gasped.

Trunda's sword was buried deep in Wiosna's left shoulder, blood gushing freely and staining both of their faces with spots of red.

Wiosna did not cry out.

Instead, she started to laugh.

Trunda frowned. “What the...”

Wiosna started to crawl backwards, despite the blade stuck fast in her shoulder. With a sickening sound, she pulled herself off the blade, blood running freely and dripping off her onto the floor below. She crawled back a few paces, and fell back onto the floor. She had a dreamy and satisfied look on her face.

“Mmmmm....” she all but moaned. “Thaaat's - niiiiiice...”

Wiosna gave out one last content sigh, and passed out, her cheeks flushed red.

Trunda simply raised an eyebrow.

<> <> <>

Selphie and Jared passed through the halls almost solemnly, their heads bowed. The guard behind them followed closely, keeping an eye on them for any treachery. He had heard of the trouble earlier with the man she had brought to the palace. The princess and her guard were smart enough to comply, he figured, so there was no need to be forceful with them. Still, at this point Selphie and her company were Marcus' guests in name only. If they tried anything, he would be charged with taking them to the dungeons and locking them up with the son of Lodin.

And the princess was rather fetching, so it would be a shame if he had to strike her.

The group of three passed a corner, and Jared looked up from the floor in irritation.

“This is all your fault,” he said to the princess. She stopped walking, and stared at him, aghast.

“What did you just say?” she demanded.

“I didn't want to stop here,” Jared said to her. “It was a bad idea, and I told you as much. But you insisted. You told us that Marcus was a good, honourable man. You said he would help us. Now look at the trouble we're going to be in tomorrow.”

Her eyes wide and enraged, Selphie took a step towards Jared. “How dare you? Who do you think you are, questioning my decisions? If it's anyone's fault, it's Luca's for getting into a fight with a guard in the first place!”

The Saetician guard sighed. “Enough. You can argue all you want when you're back in your room...”

They ignored him. “You've got a lot of nerve, you know that?” the princess growled.

“Maybe it's about time I spoke my mind to you!” Jared yelled. “You're nothing but a spoilt brat. My fellow guards were slaughtered back at Allma because you trusted that liar, and now we're in trouble again thanks to your bad judgement. Your father should never have put you in charge of this mission!”

Selphie's face twisted in rage, and her hand went flying, striking Jared on the cheek. The Saetician guard moved immediately, pushing Jared out of the way and grabbing the princess' wrist.

“Enough, I said! Do that again and I will have you locked up. I swear I - huh?!”

The last thing he remembered was the feeling of Jared's gloved hand grabbing the back of his neck, and dashing his helmeted forehead against the stone wall of the palace.

Selphie looked down at the unconscious guard, and absentmindedly rubbed her wrist where he had grabbed her.

“I apologise, princess,” Jared said to her.

She looked up. “Why? It was all part of the plan, right?”

“I know, but I still hate myself for saying those things.”

She smiled sweetly, and gently caressed Jared's chin with her hand. “That's very kind of you to say that. Still, even though it was an act, I wonder if there might have been some truth to it. I did trust Allma, and that cost those other guards their lives. Perhaps I am too trusting...”

“You cannot doubt yourself, my lady,” he insisted. “You are our leader. You must remain resolute.”

She smiled and nodded, but it was clear her doubts had not gone away so easily. “We passed an empty room on our way here. Let's get this guy moved out of the open, and go see Marcus. Gera will not be expecting us to return.”

Jared nodded.

<> <> <>

Luca stopped, suddenly filled with pain in his throat. He coughed, and fell one one knee, struggling to breath.

Brand, noticing this, stopped and went to his side. “Are you alright?”

Luca nodded, and rose to his feet. “Not me...” he choked out. “Emila.”

A look of panic crossed Brand's face. “Is she...?”

A few moments passed, and the pain went away. Luca coughed a few more times, the pain not lingering through the tether.

“She got away.”

Was the guard trying to kill her? According to Dreevius' words before, Zinoro wanted the princess alive...

“Where could she have fled to?” Luca asked.

Brand thought about it. “With Selphie and Jared gone, there's only one other person who could protect her.”

“The library, then. That's not far from here.”

They took off again. Luca's heart was beating in his chest so hard he thought it might burst out. His hand found the hilt of
Siora
, and he gripped it tightly, ready to draw it in an instant.
 

That bastard was going to pay for touching her.

They arrived at the library a few minutes later, pushing through the swinging double-doors. They saw Trunda standing by an overturned bookcase, wiping blood off his sword. Then they saw Wiosna lying unconscious in a pool of blood, and Emila at her side, glowing with mana. Emila looked up from her healing at Trunda, who was barely paying attention to her.

“Keep running if you wish, Princess,” he said to her. “I'll continue to cut down your companions until I have you.”

Luca drew his sword and strode into the room. “Hey!”

Trunda looked up and grinned. “Well, if it isn't the son of Lodin.”

Ignoring that, Luca took a few steps towards Emila. “Are you alright?” he asked her.

She nodded. “But Wiosna...”

“Is she stable?” Brand asked.

Emila nodded again. “I closed the wound and stopped the bleeding.”

“Move her out of the way,” Luca said. “I would have you take her somewhere else, but we don't know who we can trust. So just take her to the edge of the room and protect her if need be. Brand and I will fight this guy.”

“He's an Acarian,” Emila told him. “His name is Trunda. He's one of Zinoro's acolytes.”

Luca looked over at Trunda, and their eyes met.

“Son of Lodin,” the Acarian said. “I've heard quite a bit about you.”

“Have you heard about what I did to Dreevius?” Luca said with a smirk.

“There is nothing to pride yourself in that,” Trunda replied. “Dreevius was a fool, who attained his position thanks to a useful gimmick. He had long ago ceased being useful. We are stronger without him.”

“Will the acolytes be stronger without you?” Luca said to him, raising
Siora
. “I'll kill as many of Zinoro's men as I have to. He can continue to hide in his city, sending you lot off to die. And when there's none of you left, I'll come for him.”
 

Trunda started to laugh, the sound echoing through the room. “You fool boy. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into.”

But the Acarian did not attack. He instead dropped his sword, and started walking towards them. Luca and Brand braced themselves, but Trunda did not attack them. He walked right past them, looking not at them, but at the doorway.

“Isn't that right, Gera?”

The three others in the room - Luca, Brand, and Emila - turned to the open doorway that Trunda was staring at. Prince Gera stood there, a long dagger clutched in his hand.

“Devith, what are you doing?” Gera demanded. “These people know who you are! We have to kill them! They know far too much!”

“They actually do not know as much as you think they do,” Trunda said to him. “For example, they do not know of our plans. They do not know that you are in alliance with the Acarians, and that Zinoro has promised you the throne of Saeticia once he has annihilated the Alliance. They do not know that you have drugged your father's wine to send him to bed early today. And they most certainly do not know that Zinoro never planned to give a fool puppet like you anything at all.”

Gera's eyes were wide, and he stared at Trunda, unable to believe what was happening.

“W-why are you doing this?” he demanded. “Why are you throwing away all our plans?!”

“Plans?” Trunda said to him, staring at the young prince in disgust. “King Zinoro has no use for a boy who schemes to betray his own kin. You were a fool to think that he would secure your father's throne for you. But he would not pass on the chance to use you. Like me, you were only ever just a means to an end.”

Luca and Brand took a step back, staring at Trunda as he strode past them. Trunda moved past Gera, who was frozen in shock. The giant stopped, and placed his hand on Gera's shoulder. The prince flinched at the contact.

“I think there are enough witnesses now,” Trunda said quietly to him. “Do you now see the true plan, hidden in the shadows of the false one you were following? The pieces are slowly coming together. Your father should be on his way. Try talking your way out of this one, prince of fools.”

Trunda turned around one last time, and looked into the room at Emila, who was still kneeling beside Wiosna. “We will meet again, Princess.”