Bacorium Legacy (53 page)

“Silence!” Jared shouted. “You speak nothing but lies!”

Jared charged at Trunda. The Acarian kicked at a table between them, which flew up and hit Jared, knocking him back. Trunda used his momentary advantage to close in, grabbing Jared's head and bringing it down into what remained of the wooden bar.

“No!” Selphie cried, her face white.

Trunda tossed aside the unconscious form of Jared, who rolled off. He was still alive, likely thanks to his reinforcement magick.

Selphie's eyes narrowed in rage. She brought her hands up, the room filling with the heaviness of mana. At the spot in the centre of her hands appeared a blue circle of energy, from which a torrent of water sprayed out with the intensity of a high-pressure hose. The water hit Trunda square in the chest, pushing him back against the wall. Under the intense pressure, he was unable to move.

“Emila!” Selphie called out. “Freeze it!”

Emila, who had gone from healing Wiosna, to healing Brand, to healing Jared, looked up at the princess' beckoning.

“Hurry!” Selphie shouted. “This uses up a lot of mana! I can't maintain it for long!”

Emila ran over to them and clasped her hands together, gathering her own mana. She placed her hand as close to the rush of water as she could, and in seconds it had frozen solid in midair, all the way down to Trunda. The Acarian was trapped within the ice, pinning him to the wall.

Selphie gasped, her face whiter than it had been moments ago.

Trunda looked down at the ice holding him and chuckled. “Not a bad strategy. It would have worked against anyone else.”

And then, as though the ice was not even there, Trunda got up and started to walk, his body phasing right through through the ice.

Selphie stared, aghast. “How?!”

“My source of power is my ability to absorb mana and draw my own strength from it,” Trunda told her. “Magick is completely wasted upon me. In fact...”

He placed his hand on the ice, which started to glow, turning back into mana. It flowed into him, and the prominent veins in his arms seemed to swell up with energy. His muscles seemed to grow just a bit larger.

“...all it does it make me stronger,” he finished. “Fool girl, I thought you would have remembered that.”

Knowing that he was about to attack, Luca pushed Selphie aside and took her place. Trunda charged, sneering at Luca's efforts. As Trunda reached him, Luca crouched down and tried to grab the hilt of his sword. He came close, but Trunda was faster than he was. He felt Trunda's hand grabbing his wrist, and lifting him into the air.

“Not yet,” Trunda told him. “You're last. Wait your turn.”

And then Trunda's fist tightened around his wrist, shattering the bones of his sword arm. Luca cried out, and Emila gasped, clutching her own wrist. He was dropped.

“Now - where were we?” Trunda asked, stepping towards Selphie.

He took only two steps before crying out in pain, at the feeling of the sword in his side being drawn out of him. Trunda spun around, expecting to find Luca, but instead he saw the younger brother there, holding
Siora
.
 

“Leave her alone,” Ash said. He swung the sword in a wide stoke, cutting through Trunda's clothes and leaving a bleeding red cut across the Acarian's chest.

Trunda looked down at the wound for a moment, almost surprised. “You little shit,” he spat. Trunda stepped towards Ash. The younger brother swung the sword again, but this time Trunda was ready, easily dodging his clumsy swordplay. Trunda kicked Ash in the chest, sending him flying back and hitting the wall. The sword fell uselessly on the floor. One could not be sure if Ash was unconscious or not, but he did not get back up.

“So many little insects biting at me,” Trunda muttered. He turned back to Selphie, who stood with a firm expression, and Emila, who was backing away in fear. “And now all that remains is these two girls.”

“Do you intend to take me back to Zinoro?” Selphie asked him.

Trunda laughed deeply. “What makes you think Zinoro has any interest in you? We got your letter. We had a good laugh at it.”

Selphie's mouth was drawn tight in anger. “But you sent Dreevius-”

“Off to die,” Trunda finished for her. “He was a nuisance that we no longer needed. We needed to tell him something, so he wouldn't realise what we were actually sending him for. The fact that he actually managed to destroy the temple, and even briefly capture you, was nothing more than a pleasant surprise. But if those things had been our true aim, we would have sent Serpos instead.”

Selphie blinked, confused by his words. “So the attack on Allma was nothing more than a diversion?”

“You could say that,” Trunda said, shrugging. “I am now doing what King Zinoro was truly planning. I am going to kill the princess of Sono.”

Selphie raised her two short swords. She had no illusions about being able to kill Trunda herself, but at the very least she could wound him.

Trunda attacked, and she struck at the first vulnerable point she could find - the cut on his chest Ash had made. She drove one of her short swords into the small gap between his reinforced skin, burying it up to its hilt in Trunda's chest. He cried out in legitimate pain, but he did not stop. He grabbed her other hand, which held her seconds sword, and then put his other hand around her throat. Selphie struggled, but the sword fell from her hand. When she had passed out from the choking, Trunda released her.

He started to laugh. “Yes, just believe whatever I tell you, foolish girl.” He turned around to where Luca was collapsed on the ground, still conscious, but too weak to get back up. In the corner of the inn, Emila was curled up in a small ball, hugging her knees. Tears ran down her face. Her mind was somewhere else - somewhere far away.

“Weakling,” Trunda muttered with a spiteful glance at her. He strode over to Luca and picked him up from the ground. “I have already sated my blood lust with those men in the prison. Believe it or not, I'm actually not a mindless killer. Your friends can live, because you're the only one here who needs to die today.”

Trunda lifted Luca up off the ground. His reinforced fist was at Luca's throat, his fingers curling around his throat.

“That seer must have been mistaken about you,” Trunda muttered. “What threat could you possibly pose to my king? Nothing here but weaklings, the lot of you.”

Trunda's fingers tightened around Luca's throat, the pressure so strong, but so slow. Luca could not breathe. He felt like his windpipe was being crushed, but it actually had not even begun to be.

“Prophecies have been wrong before,” Trunda continued. “And the one about you will be, because you are going to die right here.” After a moment, he smirked and added, “Along with that girl over there. That weak, foolish girl who refused to even fight for herself. She clearly cares nothing for her life, so I will be glad to take it from her. And to think, I truly thought that I could-”

Trunda stopped. His eyes had grown as wide as saucers. He released Luca, who fell to
the floor. The tip of
Siora
's blade was sticking out of the front of Trunda's chest, right where his heart was.
 

“C-can't be...” Trunda choked out, blood running down his chin with each word. “I thought it...”

Trunda fell to his knees, his eyes staring in disbelief at nothing at all, before vanishing into nothing, leaving behind only his bloodstained clothes.

Standing behind him, holding the sword that had taken his life, was Emila.

She wore a look of horror on her face, unable to believe what she had just done. She looked down slowly at the sword, and saw Trunda's blood on the end of its blade. She threw it aside like it was on fire.

Her hands were shaking.

<> <> <>

With Trunda now gone, the town's healers and remaining guards just happened to arrive. They went to everyone that was wounded, using their magick to patch them up. The guards went to Emila, the last conscious person in the room, to ask her what happened, but she was too in shock to speak with them. After checking everyone, they declared that everyone had survived with only minor injuries, except for the innkeeper.

When Luca was healed enough to get up, he saw Emila sitting at what remained of the bar, an untouched glass of water in front of her. He went to her side, and she looked up and saw it was him. She started to cry, and he held her close, knowing why she was as upset as she was.

To Emila, there was nothing more horrible than taking a life. She had just broken her most important belief in order to save him.

<> <> <>

Once she had awakened and recovered enough, Selphie met with the mayor of Reven outside the ruined inn. They talked only for a short while, and when Selphie returned she told them they had to leave immediately.

When they stepped outside, it was apparent why. The townspeople were gathered, demanding an explanation for the events of the morning, as well as the night before. The remaining six guards were doing their best to keep things in order, but things were getting tense. A few townspeople had weapons. They managed to hear the name 'Selphie' shouted a few times. It would seem someone had leaked the news of who was staying at the inn. Thankfully, they were able to slip away without anyone noticing.

Back on the road again, they travelled without much to say. Nobody was in a particularly talkative mood.

Jared looked to Selphie but could not say anything to her. He was ashamed in himself, for being unable to keep her safe. Selphie looked up at him, and gave him a reassuring smile, despite the doubt in her own eyes. Though the day's events had been little more than another failure in their mission of peace, there was one small consolation among it that Selphie had told him about shortly before they had left. Though he had not been particularly enthused, it was still nice to know that they would not be separated. He returned the smile, though his heart was heavy.

As was hers.

Emila was just also troubled, haunted by the memory of what she had done. But she was also happy. After thinking about it for a while, she had come to the conclusion that she had done the right thing. Killing a single bad man did not make her a monster. Though she was not happy to have broken her vow of peace, she was happy nonetheless, because Luca, as well as everyone else in the group, was still alive.

They walked beside each other, in the back of the procession. Knowing that no one would see, Emila took Luca's arm and pulled him close, kissing him. He returned it, and she broke away, laughing, her cheeks flushed red.

Little did they know, someone had seen. Wiosna's head was turned, watching their affection with cold eyes.

Her fist was clenched so tightly that her nails were drawing blood.

Chapter XVII

Scaramouche

On the horizon, they finally saw the rising form of the city of T'Saw.

Out across the long, barren Markira Fields, the great and majestic city of T'Saw was carved into the side of a mountain. The mountain was alone, surrounded by kilometres of empty fields on all sides.

It took them a whole hour to cross the Markira Fields, travelling down the highway with other travellers before and behind them. Selphie kept her hood drawn as they walked - she did not want her people to yet know she was back. Eventually, they reached the great marble steps that led up the mountain to the gates of the city. After so many weeks of travel, making their way up all those steps was tiring. But those steps were essential to the city's defence - no army could cross that giant open field and then make it up the steps of the city. No more than three men could walk abreast up the marble steps, and carrying a battering ram up like that was all but impossible. T'Saw's defences were impregnable, and the city had never fallen.

At the top of the steps, before the massive, ornately carved iron gates, a group of guards waited to question them on their business in the city, like all the other people who entered the city. It took them no less than a few seconds to recognise Jared, and Selphie beneath her hood. They let them inside without another word.

T'Saw was the largest city in the known world, and as they stepped inside, the four in their group who had never been there were greeted by its wondrous sights for the first time. The buildings were tall, carved from the stone of the mountain. The market was bustling, the sounds of hawkers and shoppers and laughing children filling the air. And in the distance, at the top of the mountain, the Ivory Palace stood over the city like a beacon.

“That's where we're going,” Selphie said to them. “My father is waiting for us.”

“He already knows we're here?” Brand asked her quietly.

He shook her head. “No, but he will know before we get there. I'm sure a messenger is already on his way.”

They made their way down the main road towards the palace. As they walked, Luca took note of Emila's odd expression. She had told him several times that she had lived in T'Saw for a short while, and as she looked around at the sights, there was a clear look of nostalgia in her eyes. They passed a rather large inn, and Emila looked up at it wistfully.

“What is it?” he asked her.

“N-nothing,” she said quickly. “I used to stay there, was all.”

“We can get a room there after we're done at the palace,” he suggested. Seeing her blush, he added. “To stay the night, that is.”

“I'm sure the king will let us stay at the palace.”

“After Serenite, I don't think I'll be staying in a palace again any time soon,” Luca muttered sardonically.

Emila thought about that. “I see. We can stay at an inn if you like, but I would prefer a different one.”

“Why?”

She frowned, looking uncomfortable. “Well - I used to work there. It would be a little weird if I stayed there. The innkeeper could remember me.”

Luca wasn't sure why that would be so awkward for her, but he respected her feelings. They would find a different place to stay the night.

A large number of people were ahead, Luca noticed. They were gathered around a bearded man in a white robe who stood atop a wooden crate. As they drew close, he could make out the man's words.