The Lion and the Brave

Chapter six

Kynth Llew

Jierda and I had been tracking the car's whereabouts for the last few days and we were severely lacking sleep. We had been everywhere this damned car had been. Some dark alleys in witches' towns, rich neghbourhood in the elfic forests, etc... Zombie boy's last stop had been at a gas station but the humans working there knew nothing about the prince and we didn't want to compromise our plan. We din't need their confirmation anyway, we already knew where the car was located now, thanks to Jierda's vision.

The car was parked in front of a beautiful yet quite scary manor. Its walls were made of dark brown stones and the roof was tiled in slate. The manor was two or three stories high. The windows on the back of the the house were beautifully ribbed and must have let a lot of light inside. The garden was very simple and hidden from the road as many trees and bush, all in deep green foliages, were cloaking it. The entrance of the mansion was guarded by a single elaborate doorway.

Jierda and I were crouching in the bushes circling the back of the garden, reviewing one last time our plan. We had to reach the back door undetected, use magic to blow said door up and fight the Prince's kidnappers. I was alredy picturing my katana cutting Zombie boy's head off. I was slowly getting my katana out when Jierda stoped me.

"Kynth, I know this quest has been quite easy until then but I really have a bad feeling. I'd like to review the runes with you one last time before we do this."

I rolled my eyes, this rune obsession was frankly annoying. First I had to memorize their names and their powers, then he made me practice them and (surprise!) I sucked. I had only managed the rune of ending or denial : Elui, meaning that I had only convinced Jierda to stop getting on my nerves with his magic.

"We don't have the time. Now isn't the moment for another lesson. We have to get inside and be a pair of badasses. I'm going in, with or without you !" It was Jierda's turn to roll his eyes but he eventually got up, after calling me a bunch of colorful names.

"Okay kiddo, we're going to teach these bad guys a lesson."

We both got up and sneaked toward the house's back door which was strangely unguarded. Jierda tried the handle and the door opened. We looked at each other, this was too good to be true. Before entering I unsheathed my katana and enchanted the blade to be burning hot. Jierda cut his thumb and traced Othala on the brown bricks before grabbing his claymore. He applied the blood remaining on his freshly nicked finger on the rune of Gebo engraved in the broadsword's pommel to change his claymore into a machine gun.

We entered in what seemed to be a study. Everything was covered in dust and the faint light coming from the draped windows made me feel secure. The quietness surrounding the room was almost perceptible. The walls were covered in bookcases and an ancient rug muffled the sound of our steps. Jierda and I were looking at each other uneasily. This was not how we had pictured our grand rescue mission. We started looking through the books but nothing conclusive came out of it. I was getting ill at ease, something was bugging me but I couldn't put my finger on it. I gestured to Jierda and we left the room.

The study opened to a dimly lit hallway. The walls were elegantly papered and the wooden floor was bare. Jierda was leading the way and I had his back. Suddenly, a gust of wind made the dust fly and I started to cough. Jierda turned toward me, a panicked look on his face. I tried to put my weight on the nearest wall but my hand traversed it. I lost my balance and found myself on all fours in a guest room. Jierda appeared beside me and, as soon as he set a foot on the ground, his leg got stuck in a bear trap. He screamed and let go of his weapon, which disappeared. His whole body huddled against the ground as blood was slowly trickling down his ankle. I tried to approach him but my coughing fit was only getting worse.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw a lanky boy and a scrawny little girl. I turned my head but it was getting difficult to see. It seemed like the dust was sticking to my cornea. I wanted to yell but my throat was aching. I got up, my whole body shaking but soon I felt my breath being blocked in my lungs. I dropped my katana and brought my hands to my thoat. I locked eyes with the lanky boy and realised that blood was leaking from his mouth, nose and eyes. His hair looked black or blue, I could barely tell. My head ached awfully and I still couldn't breathe. I started to walk toward the two kids but my legs gave way under me. My head hit the ground and I lost consciousness.