by Tj Dixon
“Don’t Hinata!” Asuna cries out.
“I am not interested in you anyway.” The Kuroneko laughs mockingly. Then she smiles. “Besides you are of interest to the Sky Lord. Sacrifice ten of your people to me and I’ll spare the girl.”
“Never.” Hinata says with an angry glare, but then she frowns. “By the Sky Lord, you mean Peter, right?”
“What of it?” The Kuroneko growls.
“Yu Kii and her sister are of interest to Peter too. Yu Kii is his friend so he isn’t going to be happy if you take her sister away from her.” Hinata says.
“Even so, she belongs to me… She is worthless though… I will let you keep her… for now.” The Kuroneko says quietly almost as if to herself. Then she disappears.
“Did you sense her port?” I ask Sor.
“She didn’t port.” Sor says confidently, and she would know.
“What did you mean by the Sky Lord?” Rin asks as Yu Kii stands.
“That’s what she called Peter.” Hinata answers.
“What is a Sky Lord?” Rin asks.
“I don’t know, but Peter asked something like that too, and she said he was the Sky Lord, not a Sky Lord.” Hinata says.
“There was something called the Sky Lord in the History of Ishki.” Yu Kii says with a frown.
“When did you read the History of Ishki?” Rin asks in surprise.
“At the Ancient Library in Portalis.” Yu Kii answers.
“There’s a copy here too. Could we borrow it?” Rin asks Hinata.
“Sure.” Hinata answers without a second thought. Asuna looks at her disapprovingly. “What?”
“That library is precious knowledge that was passed down the family for generations.” Asuna says.
“So you would rather I didn’t lend it to Rin?” Hinata asks dubiously.
“It’s not that. It’s just that you need to be more conscious of its value. You shouldn’t offer to give away your own freedom for mine either.” Asuna says.
“That’s my choice.” Hinata says with a shrug.
Chapter 6 (Multiple)
(Rin)
I want to read this book right away, but there’s no time. So I leave it under my pillow. Nobody other than Asuna, Hermes and I should be able to enter the room, but I still wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving it in plain sight. I look at Asuna and Hermes, and say. “Let’s port to the arena. It’s about to start.”
“I’ll port us.” Asuna says. Hermes holds her left hand and I hold her right hand. Just as we arrive the commentator starts to talk. I don’t pay attention to her words though, because we need to find a seat quickly.
“Over here!” Yu Kii calls out. She ported back to her room as soon as we got back and is now sitting on the outer ring with Haru Kii. There is just about enough room for the three of us to join them, but it is going to be squashed. That beats standing for the whole fight though.
I sit on Haru Kii’s right and then Hermes sits next to me and Asuna takes the last spot. Asuna is actually hanging over the edge of the seat into the aisle down to the arena. Both the competitors are already down on the stage.
“And so it has begun.” The commentator says and she is right. The competitors are now both hovering above water.
“Who’s she fighting?” I ask Yu Kii, but it is Haru Kii who answers. She seems to be getting used to us now. When she first arrived she was really nervous around everyone except Yu Kii.
“She’s fighting Ash Snow.” Haru Kii says.
“I’m sure that’s who she teamed up with last year. So now they’re enemies. This battlefield is much better suited to a wind or water mage, but we’ve seen how that doesn’t seem to stop Ling.” I say with a frown. Was Ash Snow a fire mage, or was she a water mage. I forget.
Perhaps it is just as well Peter isn’t fighting in the competition though. It might be for the best if he comes back just after it finishes. No, I should have more faith in Peter. Besides, if nobody beats Ling she will own most of our classmates. Peter would free them all if he beats Ling. That would also get him enough members to form the company.
“Is there any chance Ash will win?” Haru Kii asks.
“There’s always a chance, but I wouldn’t count on it.” I answer.
“Why are they just hovering there like that?” Haru Kii asks.
“I’m not sure. Perhaps they’re still getting used to the battlefield.” I say, but that doesn’t seem right.
“They’re both preparing a powerful spell.” Asuna tells us, which makes more sense, but…
“Aren’t they too far away from each other though?” I ask.
“I’m not sure what Ash’s spell is, but Ling’s is definitely powerful enough to reach from that distance.” Asuna says.
“I could be wrong.” Yu Kii says nervously. “I think Ash’s spell is a summoning, but I’m not sure what she’s summoning. I don’t think it’s a spirit or a god.”
“If Ash is summoning anything, I would guess a demon.” Asuna says, sounding worried. Just as soon as she has said it she is proven correct. There is no mistaking the small red bat that appears in front of Ash. It is a lesser demon and clearly under Ash’s control. Just as it is summoned though, Ling’s spell takes effect and all of the water below them turns into a writhing sea of something filthy and disgusting. They remind me of maggots, if maggots were six foot long and a foot wide. They are very pale coloured with a slight brown glisten. They don’t have teeth, but each mouth seems to be dripping something slimy.
“You don’t want to get eaten by those.” Yu Kii says sounding horrified.
“It would be unpleasant.” I admit.
“You’d melt.” Haru Kii says and I look down at Haru Kii in surprise.
“Melt?” I ask confused.
“They’re filled with acid.” Yu Kii explains. Then all of a sudden the sea of creatures lunges at Ash, but she laughs and is surrounded by flames. The creatures are reduced to ash even before they reach the flames. Yu Kii tells us. “Those creatures are highly resistant to fire.”
“They don’t look it.” I say as they seem to be getting incinerated about three feet away from the flames now.
“Those flames are demonic.” Hermes says.
“So is it the demon summoning them?” I ask.
“It must be.” Hermes says.
“Do you think Ling is going to lose?” I ask Hermes, but before she can answer Ling has been doubled over by an unseen force. A moment later both Ling and Ash are in the arena again. Ling is unconscious and Ash is standing there holding Ling’s jewel. It takes a moment for the crowd and even the commentator to react.
“The winner is Ash Snow. Ling Wu Fang, with approval of the royal judge, is hereby declared by royal decree slave of Ash, and Ash will advance to the next battle. The rights of the family of Ling are eternally forfeit. That was… unexpected. Will Ash now take the final victory though, or is there anyone who can stand in her way? Next week she will face Elf Lee Ironwood. I hope everyone watches to see the outcome. There aren’t that many more battle now until the royal tournament reaches its conclusion.” The commentator announces.
“So now most of our class are Ash’s slaves. I suppose she can’t be any worse than Ling.” I say.
“I’ve no idea what Ash is like, but I suppose that is true.” Hermes says.
“Ling’s awake again. She looks scared, doesn’t she?” Haru Kii says.
“Yes, she does look scared.” I say and smile. “Perhaps she’s scared that she’s going to get treated as badly as she’s been treating her slaves since she inherited them from Shelley. Anyway, I’m going to read that book we borrowed. I’ll meet you at the training grounds once I’ve finished it. Have everyone continue their training like normal.”
“Why do you get to skip training just to read a book?” Hermes complains.
“Because Peter left me in charge.” I say with a smile and then port back to our room. I take the book from under my pillow and sit on the side of my bed to read it. It is poorly written
and even things that should be exciting are very slow going. I find myself wishing I was at training instead.
I am almost halfway through the book and it is over an hour later when I see the title Sky Lord. I smile and read on. My smile disappears and I reread the paragraph. I read it a third time and a fourth. That can’t be right. Maybe I’m just missing something. I use the queen’s gift and call Hermes to join me.
“Was it as good a read as Yu Kii said?” Hermes asks.
“It’s a rubbish read, but that’s not the point. Read this paragraph and tell me I misread it.” I tell Hermes. She looks confused but reads it. As she reads the last few words she gasps and looks at me.
“Peter can’t be the Sky Lord if this is true.” Hermes says still staring at the words in horror.
“Even so, we should make sure he never finds out what is written here. He’d only worry about it.” I tell Hermes who nods in agreement.
(Jenny)
I try not to watch as Yusa kisses my brother goodbye. It is a long kiss. It is always a long kiss, but this one is even longer than normal, because it will be a while before they see each other again. I don’t really mind their relationship, especially since they are both seventeen, but I would still prefer not to see my brother kissing anyone. It’s not like I think they shouldn’t be kissing, but Jimmy is still my adorable twin brother that I have taken care of for most of my life.
“That’s enough, or we’ll be late. It’s not like you’ll never see each other again.” I tell them crossly. Yusa slowly pulls away from Jimmy and then looks at me like a sad puppy.
“It could be weeks before we see each other again!” Yusa protests.
“Don’t tell Rin that.” I warn her. “The poor girl doesn’t even know if she’ll ever see Peter again. Even if she does it could be years from now.”
“So Rin does love Peter?”
“She’ll not admit it, but yes she very much loves him. She may not have realised before Peter left, but I am sure she’s realised by now.” I tell Yusa. Then I say firmly. “Goodbye Yusa.”
“Goodbye Jenny. Goodbye Jimmy.” Yusa says and then kisses Jimmy one last time. I grab Jimmy’s hand and port us both just outside the entrance of Hinata’s home. It’s our home too now.
“Welcome.” Hinata says bowing deeply to us. It feels really weird to be bowed to by a noble. I get on fine with the nobles in our club, but even that still feels a little weird at times.
“Thank you.” I say bowing back to her and Jimmy bows too.
“I have two rooms ready. They are next to each other and not far from the entrance. Please follow me.” Hinata says and leads us into the house and to the right. Our rooms really aren’t far. They are in fact the first two rooms. We take a look at the first before moving onto the second room. They both have a dark wooden bed large enough for two people to sleep on, covered in comfy looking blue bedding. Beside the bed is a small wooden table made of the same dark wood as the bed. The bare floorboards also made of the same wood are mostly covered by a few large blue rugs.
“This room used to belong to my mother and the one next door was Asura’s room. We didn’t keep many rooms in good condition but you shouldn’t have any problems with these rooms. Sor and Emi have been using them, but they left just before you arrived. Literally a moment before you arrived in fact, which is why I was standing there when you both ported in.”
“That was convenient timing.” I say with a smile.
“I am sure Sor timed it exactly.” Hinata says to which I blink.
“How would she even know when we were going to arrive?” I ask dubiously.
“She must have sensed your port. She was just hanging around for a while before she actually ported away. She was probably worried that something might happen before you arrived.” Hinata says.
“It would be difficult to sense our port before we arrived. For one thing a port is almost instant.” I say still not convinced.”
“Sor can do anything with dimensional magic. She can even port between worlds.” Hinata says and I find myself shaking my head in wonder, but Hinata seems to misinterpret that as a denial. “She really can. I’m not lying.”
“I didn’t say you were. It’s not that I disbelieve you, but it is hard to accept.” I tell Hinata apologetically. “So how do we know when you need our help?”
“A messenger will come to your room. If you leave your room, just let someone at the main entrance know where to find you.” Hinata tells me. Then she frowns. “Rin said she was going to send one of the elves in case it was too dangerous for you. Do you know when they will be arriving?”
“She was going to stay hidden not far from here, so she has either already arrived or will do so soon. If we need her help I know where to find her, but unless there is a particularly dangerous monster I should be ok without her.”
“Asura was a really good mage and she was killed because she fought alone. Please be careful.” Hinata asks pleadingly.
“Don’t worry, I will be.” I assure Hinata.
“There’s a small bakery in town where you can buy bread and an inn where you can buy meals. We only recently finished repairing them. There’s also soup cooked here every day around sunrise and sunset. It’s very basic but it is free and I can have someone deliver it to your room if you want. The queue is huge, because most of the townspeople eat it now. They can’t afford anything else. Before the attack about a quarter to half the townspeople were eating it.”
“We’ll eat that then. If you could get it delivered to our rooms that would be great.” I say, because we want to keep our costs down so we can repay Peter for freeing us.
“I will do. For now though I’ll let you settle in. If you need me my room is the next one after Jimmy’s. If I’m not there just ask at the main entrance. There’s always someone there.” Hinata says with a smile.
“Thank you.” I reply with a small bow.
“No, thank you for your help.” Hinata says with a deep bow and then quickly retreats out of the room.
“I can help you.” Jimmy insists as soon as we are alone.
“No.” I tell him firmly. “I didn’t teach you magic so you could take risks with me.”
“Hinata is right though. Fighting alone is too risky. If I help you it will be much safer. I don’t want to lose you.”
“I’m not that weak. I’m not going to die.” I say shaking my head in frustration, but I’m obviously not the only one who is frustrated.
“I know you’re strong, but what if you go up against a monster that fire magic can’t harm?” Jimmy protests.
“I do know other magic.”
“But you aren’t as good at it as you are at fire magic.”
“I can always port away if it gets too bad. The sort of monsters I might have to deal with aren’t going to be able to stop me porting. I have the elves and Peter’s club I can call on to deal with anything I can’t beat on my own. If it is goblins or something, I’ll get help before I even attempt to deal with them.” I assure him.
“But…” Jimmy starts to say but I cut him off.
“No buts. We agreed that I would teach you magic and you would only use it in an emergency. That was the agreement and that is final.” I tell him firmly. He is obviously about to argue further but before he can do so there is an urgent knock on the door. Almost relieved I calmly call out. “Come in.”