“Magika extraction,” Claire answered.
I stared at her blankly.
“Right,” she said. “How else do you think they got the magika in liquid form?”
“How does that work exactly?” I asked.
She shrugged. “Beats me, you’d have to ask your friend Leon. Engineers are the experts at this sort of thing. They don’t have a whole lot of magic, but they do have the technical know-how.”
“Do you think someone knew about all this and was trying to steal them?” I asked.
She was shaking her head before I finished. “Doubtful. They left it all behind after all, and these are only Class 1 stones that just about anyone could get their hands on. It was probably just a raccoon or something.”
“A raccoon. Right,” I said not totally convinced.
“On a positive note, now I’ve got some magika. Grab what you can, and let’s go see if the others found anything,” she said.
I grabbed an empty jar from the shelf and collected as many of the green stones as I could. When I’d finished, Claire handed me the jar of blue stones, and we left the room.
While we walked, I refreshed my memory on what Leon had taught me. Green was for Champions, blue for Guardians, black for Infiltrators, and white for Engineers.
“Why aren’t there any red stones here?” I asked aloud, though I hadn’t meant to.
“The only way to get a Summoner stone is to have it gifted to you by the gods themselves,” Claire answered. “While the rest of these are fairly easy to acquire, only a person who faces a god in battle and defeats them is granted a stone capable of summoning them to your aid in a fight.”
I nearly dropped the jars in my hand. “You’re telling me I have to kill a god to get his stone?” I asked.
“Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t kill the gods. You just have to prove your worth. Hold your own so to speak. Last long enough and you’ll be granted the stone,” she said.
“And if you don’t? Last long enough, I mean?” I asked.
“Then you die,” she said.
I stopped walking.
“Come on, you're telling me you didn’t at least remember that?” she asked.
“I don’t, sorry.”
“Well, why else do you think there are so few Summoners and no red stones here?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” I answered.
We started walking again as I continued to mull over her words. I supposed I shouldn't have found it so shocking. If I failed to gather the five stones, we were likely dead anyway, so at this point, nothing should come as a surprise.
Izaiah, Bella, and Leon returned to the entry hall just as we did.
“What have you got there?” Izaiah asked.
“Magika stones and lots of them,” I answered. “How about you guys? Find anything useful?”
He held up the sack that was in his hands. Bella and Leon carried similar sacks. “All the food you could possibly want. Some of it’s a little stale now. It’s been a few days since anyone’s lived here, but beggars can’t be choosers.”
“You didn’t happen to see anyone else in here with us, did you?” I asked.
Izaiah shook his head. “No, why? Did you?”
“It was nothing, probably just an animal or something,” I said, turning a little red. I'm just being paranoid.
“Well, look, this end of the world thing isn’t going down in one night,” Izaiah said. “We’re all tired. We’ve got food and shelter. Let’s stay here and rest up while it’s light, and as soon as the sun goes down, we’ll head out. Better to leave under the cover of darkness.”
“What if there is someone here or if Lucian comes looking for us?” I asked, my paranoia still getting the better of me. I am not liking being back here.
“Then we’ll post a sentry,” Bella said. “I’ll take first shift, and we’ll rotate while everyone sleeps. Fair enough?”
“Sounds good,” I said with a yawn.
Twenty-Five
The clinking of a can rolling across the ground jostled me awake.
There wasn’t a whole lot of light in the room. I could see the moon through the open hangar bay, and a light flickered in the room on the other side the giant hole in the wall that Elsie had left when she’d ripped through it.
Suddenly, I realized that something was on top of me.
I turned and found Bella snuggled up close with her arm draped over my chest. Why she kept on pressing her relationship with me when I hadn’t reciprocated at all was beyond me.
I couldn’t blame her, though. We apparently had a history—a history I’d forgotten, but she certainly hadn’t. What had gone on between us before I left? It wasn’t like she was unattractive. In fact, quite the opposite was true. Instantly, I recalled the image of her standing in the palace in that cerulean blue dress, and a warmth stirred within me.
Yet, I couldn't help this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that was holding me back from reciprocating her advances. Her affection seemed like it was all an act to get close to me and betray me once again. The more I thought about it though, the more I realized it was a ridiculous notion. She’d had so many opportunities to stab me in the back, and she hadn’t taken any of them.
Maybe it was time to let my reservations go and see where this adventure took us.
I turned toward Bella and wrapped my arm around her.
No sooner had I pillowed my head, than the sound of breaking glass echoed in the distance, and my eyes shot open once more.
Stupid raccoon.
I was never going to get any sleep with that thing roaming around making noise. Plus, they were vicious creatures, and I wasn’t about to let the thing maul me in my sleep.
Lifting Bella’s arm off of me, I rolled away from her and gently set it down.
I climbed to my feet and glanced around the area. Izaiah sat apart from everyone as if he’d been on watch, though his slumped form told me he’d fallen asleep on the job.
My worries from earlier had subsided. It’s not like anyone was going to find us out here. Lucian shot down our plane several miles away, and they’d likely believed us to be dead, either because of the crash or in the ensuing fire that resulted because of it.
Besides, the sound had come from inside the facility.
I grabbed my bow and nocked an arrow. I could have used my magic to fry the little bugger, but I was trying to conserve my MP. I probably would have plenty of opportunity to regenerate whatever I used, but I felt like having some fun with my bow instead.
As I approached the double doors leading back into the facility, they slid open on their own.
Cautiously, I crossed the threshold, not wanting to spook the little guy and cause him to run away again.
As soon as I cleared the door, hands grabbed hold of my shoulders. Swinging me to the side, they slammed me into the wall. I released the arrow, but it went wide and missed my attacker.
The assailant took my left arm and smashed it against the wall. Had my arm not been made of metal, I might have dropped the bow, but for the first time I was thankful I couldn’t feel any pain there.
I brought up my right hand and started calling forth my Lightning magic to stun my opponent. As I did so, the light of the moon caught a man’s face, and I instantly recognized him.
“Von?” I asked. I immediately called off my attack, and the power receded within me. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m trying to find my crew,” Von answered as he put a blade to my throat.
“Hey, easy,” I said. “Good for you, then, 'cause you found some of us.”
“You’re no longer a part of my clan,” he hissed.
“W—what do you mean?” I asked with a slight tremor of worry in my voice.
“You’re with them now, aren't you? The king’s royal guard?” Von asked, nodding toward the hangar. “Have you been spying on me?”
“No,” I said. I tried to shake my head, but his blade dug into my throat as I turned, so I stopp
ed moving. “It’s not like that.”
“It’s not is it? Do you mind explaining why you’re with the princess and that Balgyran weasel then?”
“The princess is my sister,” I explained.
That was the wrong thing to say because he pressed his blade in harder. I could feel a drop of blood running down my throat.
“You’re a gods-forsaken Halland?” Von asked.
“Easy, easy, I’m an Oathbreaker. Same as you. I haven’t been a member of the royal family for four years,” I said. “Besides, the king is dead.”
Von eased up a little bit, but still held the knife near my throat. “He’s what?”
“Lucian killed him, but you won’t hear about that on the broadcast. He’s ascended the throne, and he’s about to attack Balgyra with the full might of our military,” I said. I figured it was best to be completely honest with him at this point. He was the man holding the knife to my throat. Mentioning Balgyra reminded me of something else he’d said. “Wait, did you say Balgyran spy?”
He glanced back into the hangar, then nodded.
Chet. Bella was a traitor.
“You’re lying,” I said defensively.
“Why would I lie to you?” he asked. “What do I have to gain by doing so?”
I didn’t know if I should believe him or not. I had just decided to trust her. She was a spy? For Balgyra? I had such a hard time believing it. What she’d done, sure it was awful and it broke my trust, but hadn’t it been to save me? At least, that’s what she’d claimed.
A spy for Lucian, maybe, but Balgyra? I didn’t know.
“What makes you so certain?” I asked.
“Because I—”
“Hello? Aren? Where’d you go?” Bella asked from the other room.
I glanced toward the hangar, then back to Von. “We’re looking for Rayf and Elsie, too. Come with us. We can sort this all out together.”
Von hesitated.
“Izaiah, wake up! Aren’s gone!” Bella shouted.
“Sorry, kid, I won’t align myself with the kingsmen and traitors,” Von replied. All at once, he withdrew the blade, spun, and ran from the room, disappearing deeper into the facility.
I took a deep breath to calm my beating heart, then stepped through the doorway back into the hangar.
“Oh, thank the gods, there you are. Where did you go?” Bella asked.
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know how to answer her. But one thing I knew that I couldn’t abide was a traitor. I decided to attack this thing head on.
“Are you—”
“What’s going on?” Claire asked. She groaned and flipped over. “It’s still dark, why are you up?”
Izaiah jolted awake and shouted, “Don’t eat me!”
We all turned and looked at him with shocked expressions.
“Oh, gods. That’s so embarrassing,” Izaiah said.
“That you fell asleep on duty or that a big scary monster woke you up?” Bella asked.
Claire snickered.
It was too dark to see, but I imagined Izaiah’s cheeks were flushed red. His silence was more than telling.
Bella turned back to me and asked, “Am I what?”
“Huh?” I asked.
“You were saying something. Am I what?”
Oh right. ‘Are you a traitor?’ was what I was going to ask, but with the eyes of the others on me, the words caught in my throat. All I had were doubts sown by an untrustworthy Oathbreaker and no evidence whatsoever to back up such a claim. I might have been willing to confront her privately, but not like this.
“Are you always going to be so protective of me?” was what I ended up saying.
“You’re my prince. In more ways than one,” she said with a smile. “So, yes, and you better get used to it.”
Heat flooded through me once again, but this time it wasn’t attraction, but shame. Shame that I had doubted her, and yet, shame that I still couldn’t trust her—at least, not until I was absolutely certain that what Von had said was a lie.
I decided to keep an eye on her, and if my suspicions became aroused again, maybe I would raise the question I had wanted to ask. But, for now, I would let it go. There wasn’t a whole lot she could do out here anyway. Not unless she had some secret neural transmitter I didn’t know about.
I felt an impulse to go push aside her hair and check, but I restrained myself.
“Hey, where’s Leon?” Claire asked.
I recoiled slightly, realizing I had been staring at Bella, then looked around the room. Claire was right. Leon was gone.
“Do you think something happened to him?” I asked. “I mean, he probably just went for a walk.”
There was an uneasy silence as we all tried to figure out what we should do.
"Is this in his nature?" Izaiah asked, looking at me.
I nodded. "He's been known to just disappear, but he eventually shows back up."
"The sun has set, and we're all up already, so we may as well get going. Let’s split up and look for him,” Izaiah said.
“I’ll check the facility,” I said.
I wanted to take the opportunity to also look for Von. He had to be inside somewhere, unless there was an exit in the rear I didn’t know about. If I found him, maybe I could convince him to tell me more about Bella or at the very least, get him to come with us. We could always use another high-level Oathbreaker.
Without waiting for their approval, I spun around and went right back through the double doors and into the facility. I turned to go down the left hallway and ran straight into Leon.
“Where did you go?” I whispered loudly. I was starting to sound like Bella.
Leon’s eye went wide. “I’m sorry? I couldn’t sleep. I went for a walk.”
“Did you—” I glanced back to see if anyone followed me. The coast was clear. “Did you see Von?”
“No. Why? Should I have? Did you see him?” he asked.
“Yes. Not five minutes ago, he was right here. He’s looking for Rayf and Elsie,” I said.
“That’s awesome!” Leon said. “Is he going to help?”
I shook my head. “He said that there’s a—” I almost told him there was a traitor in our midst, but I changed my mind. I didn’t want to risk fracturing the team dynamic with what might have been lies or at the very least, faulty information. “Just forget about it. He said he’s not going to help us.”
Leon frowned. “Why would he—”
“I said forget it; we’re ready to leave. Come on.”
Turning once more, I walked back into the empty hangar with Leon on my heels and saw that everyone had already dispersed.
“I found him!” I shouted.
Claire’s head popped around the corner. “Bella! Izaiah! He's been found. Let's go.”
When they rejoined us, Bella placed her hands on her hips and looked like she was going to lecture him, so I cut in, “Save your energy. He couldn’t sleep. We’ve got a long day ahead of us. Let’s try to focus on finding Elsie, all right?”
I don’t know why I defended him, but I didn’t really feel like arguing or answering questions anymore. It was time to head for the mountains.
Twenty-Six
Though we were out in the dark of night, I could see the mountains off in the distance. The forest had disappeared some time before we arrived at the facility so there was nothing between us and the border except wide-open plains.
In the moonlight, the mountains were a black outline against the deep navy blues of the night sky. To the west, the yellow glow of the city of Valeria filled the horizon.
We all walked in silence—whether because of the tension of our last few moments at the facility or because we dared not speak under some misplaced feeling that doing so would alert the world to our location, I did not know.
I felt fairly refreshed after sleeping the day away, yet an uneasy anticipation grew inside my chest with no clue as to what lay ahead.
I was unsure of what waited for us in the mountai
ns or when we’d find Elsie—if we found Elsie. What should I be expecting from the Summoner trials that awaited me? What fate did Winkerk hold for us all?
The future had been mapped out before us. We knew what to do, yet it was unknown all at the same time, leaving me with an odd feeling.
Perhaps Claire was filled with a different sensation. She actually remembered doing all of this, but now she had the power to change it for the better. For me, I just felt horribly out of place, like I didn’t belong.
I glanced over at Bella but didn’t speak.
“What?” she asked, her tone slightly annoyed.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You’ve been looking at me weird for the last hour. Don’t tell me ‘nothing,’” she retorted.
I thought about telling her about Von, but Izaiah, Claire, and Leon were all staring from behind as we walked.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said.
“Did I offend you or something?” Bella asked.
I didn’t respond.
She crossed her arms. “You don’t want to tell me. Fine. I’ll give you your space, but whatever is going on, you better not let it affect your fighting because as soon as we reach the border, you can be sure we’re in for a lot of trouble.”
As if on cue, a flash of red light lit up the mountain before us.
Tiny pockets of color had flickered across the mountain every couple of minutes during the entirety of our walk, but it was more like a tiny pin prick here and there. This was a light that filled the whole valley.
We weren’t naïve enough to be ignorant of what they meant. It was Allyria and Balgyra at war. Just because it was night, didn’t mean the fighting stopped.
And we were about to step into it. The thought of this caused all of us to slow our steps.
The light from the moon disappeared and returned a moment later as a gust of wind rushed passed us.
“What was that?” I asked.
Everyone except me had frozen in their tracks.
A black blur covered the moon once more as the sound of thick, beating wings filled the air.
“Run!” Claire shouted.
Sworn Guardian: A LitRPG/GameLit Adventure (Forbidden Magic Book 1) Page 19