Heaven's Darkness (Book 2)

Chapter 12 - Jeriah

 "You know, I think Red was foolish in thinking he could win a bet like that," Quint randomly said, leaning against the interior train wall.

"Oh, really?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. You gave Ashura your Legendary bracelet. This will be a cinch for you."

I blinked and stared at the empty space beside me on the black train booth. "Damn, you're right! I did give her my bracelet, but she doesn't know what it means. Not like it matters, anyway; I didn't give it to her for that reason. I wouldn't do that to her."

Quint stared at me with a bored expression on his face. "You do realize that there's only one purpose behind that bracelet? Any other reason is not valid with that particular bracelet."

"To be fair, my father only told me the protection part, not the other part," I defended, crossing my arms over my chest in defiance. "I don't see you giving your bracelet any thought."

Quint actually snorted at my remark. "Are you serious? I haven't given it to anybody because I'm aware of its true meaning." He kicked his legs up onto the seat. "Although, I'm impressed with your thinking. You gave her the bracelet as a sign of protection, so that any enemy that comes our way will see it and know a Legendary is on his way. You did it to keep her safe in her broken state, and that is something I can respect."

A shriek sounded from a few seats ahead.

"Stop tugging on that! You don't know what'll happen!" I heard Ashura protest. We all agreed on no magic usage while on the train, so as not to raise any concerns or eyebrows at us. Our goal was to lay low, even while Ashura was probably being mugged at that moment.

I was quickly on my feet and at the scene, completely disgusted to find an elderly, wispy-haired man tugging debauchedly at her reflective cloak with a surprisingly strong grip.

"Sir, please let her go," I asked as politely and sternly as possible, firmly taking Ashura's arm in my hand, pulling her closer to me.

The old man stuck his tongue out at me. "Leave me alone and let me live for once! You have a long life to live still!"

I shot Ash a completely grossed out expression, and we both simultaneously shivered. I didn't understand why people had to be so rude. I didn't really notice what came out of my mouth next.

"You should probably just die right now."

The old man blinked at my flat comment. "Excuse me?"

Well, too late to back out now. "You're so perverted," I blatantly stated, surprising the old man enough for his grip to loosen. I tugged the cloak from his grasp and ushered Ashura away from him, not leaving before sending my hardest punch to his nose. He spluttered out blood and coughs, his wrinkled face cringing from the pain. I left him for my own seat on the train, a self-righteous smirk finding its way onto my face.

Ashura seemed entirely too stressed out. "Thanks so much, Jeriah. If my cloak came off, I don't know what I would've done."

I laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Well, I know what would've happened, and it wouldn't have been a nice end for that old geezer."

She shot me a weak smile before turning to stare out the window, completely silent and unmotivated to talk. I was growing concerned.

Luckily, Quint saw right through me, swinging his white-clothed legs off the seat. "Hey, I think I'm going to go check on Red and Terra to see how they're doing. I'll be back in a little bit."

The blue-haired wizard rose to his tall height and made his way down the train aisle, scooting in beside Terra in the other booth we had claimed, leaving me alone with Ashura.