THE FORTUNIST

40. Rayton

“People who can tap into Xri's Blade can control the elements like earth, air, fire, water to varying degrees. Xihan Dropp's affinity to this cryfix gives him the ability to turn objects to dust.”

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Rayton  watches the carraige far away in the cleared street jostled along by four black horses. He had been watching it since afternoon when Fevren had shoved Anarella into it and given strict confidential orders which Rayton heard anyway. The events of the last two hours blur together in his mind.

Him dragging a suddenly reluctant Anarella as an open door materialized out of thin air. A purple clad figure shooting out and tearing through their interlinked hands. Him recognising the prize wrapped in the figure's fingers. Anarella stumbling and falling. Him remembering that the Xri siblings would immediately identify him the moment they set eyes on him.

He winces at the thought of Anarella's certain anger on being left behind. The last glimpse he had caught of her was her being knocked out by a kick to the solar plexus from Fevren. It must have been quite a sight pursuing a mysterious figure clad in purple and being pursued for it. Rayton knew at that moment that he had to forego the pursuit before one of the Xri siblings would be bound to spot his face and recognise him as royal heir. There was also the matter of Anarella being captured. Rayton had the conviction to rescue her. He couldn't bear to think what sort of interrogation she would face if they found the Dropp Seal on her. He must rescue her before the carriage got to the City's Watch main headquarters which is a decent fortress of its own.

'We can still cover the ground we lost,' Rayton is encouraged not to beat himself up about letting the assassin disappear with Xri's Blade. The assassin was bound to disappear at a point anyway and that is an act Rayton cannot pull.

The carriage stops and the seven —Rayton counted— City's Watch escorts unbridled the horses, choosing to rest in a nearby cave for the night. They make a small camp fire and Rayton envies them for laughing wholeheartedly around it. They've never had problems bigger than transporting criminals obviously. They've probably never lost one in their custody.

With patient waiting, the escorts soon go to sleep and two keep watch. Rayton scurries down from the tree he is hiding and goes in for incapacitation. Before one of the escorts can bawl, Rayton digs two fingers into the base of his throat and sends his head slamming to the ground, knocking him straight out. He hears the chunk of earth leaving the ground before the second watch can totally fling it at him. He dodges easily but the crash wakes up the other escorts. Rayton pulls out his sword from a hidden scabbard and uses the hilt to knock the second escort down. Five left, one of them hurls balls of fire at him. Rayton notices another seemingly calling for reinforcements through a mind link. Rayton tosses his sword with more force than intended at the idiot who faints in fright after the weapon knocks the cap cleanly from his head. He dodges once again causing the two elements of water and fire balls to collide extinguishing each other. He knocks the two excorts head together. He throws the sixth one who attacks him over his shoulder and punches the living daylights out of him. The last escort is a girl who looks to be in her early twenties. All the escorts probably spent one or two years in Albenarum.

Rayton feels inclined to be disappointed on Fevren and Simine's behalf. One would think they would be more mindful of the escorts they put in charge of a person suspected to be an accomplice in the theft of their house cryfix.

"Please," the young woman says dropping her knife and raising her hands up in surrender. Rayton is torn, reluctant to hit her. His hesitation is enough for her to fly at him with inhuman speed. Rayton's eyes widen. The woman stops when they are just centimetres apart, her eyes widen too but in consternation as she realises something is holding her back from slamming into Rayton.