Water's Reflection or Hero's Guilt

Chapter Thirty-One

          Terrance, Maya, Adam and Lupine ran through a dark and narrow alleyway when the Royal Mage suddenly halted at the back of the line; they had long since retreated from the beach, and wherever June Bailey was, she posed no immediate threat right now. No one noticed that he'd stopped running, they all continued down the street.

          “Terrance!” he yelled and raised his silver sword.

          The werewolf turned with a growl. “What?!” He was still unarmed, the Royal Mage quickly observed. Tired from the running, the fighting and the swimming. But Maya stood with him, just as that other man, with his knifes and his dog. He was sure his daughter would not harm him—although that did not mean she would not oppose him—but he suspected the bodyguard would not hesitate to.

          “Put that thing down before you poke an eye out,” the man said calmly. His dog growled and his right hand inched for a knife hidden in his belt.

          The Royal Mage did not obey; the words barely even reached him. “What the Hell was that?” he asked.

          “You got your ass handed to you, is what that was!” Terrance motioned they should keep on moving, but he did not budge. “If you value your life any bit, I'd--”

          “You'd what? Follow you blindly? Hah!” the Mage spat. “I've been tricked plenty. Not this time. Not before you explain what that bitch did!” With his sword in his right hand, he extended his arm, aiming the weapon at Terrance's throat.

          He stared at him for a moment, baffled. Then he let out a roar and moved past Adam, standing in between the two. He pushed his defensive arm away and stood right in front of the Mage, the tip of the silver sword nearly touching his skin. “That bitch?” Terrance asked.

          “What did she do?”

          “That... bitch...?”

          “Terrance, calm down,” said Adam. He put his hand on Terrance's shoulder, who immediately shrugged it off. He only had eye for the man in front of him, the Royal Mage.

          “I just saved your life, Roy. Do me a favor—now go waste it on the first sharp object you encounter. If you think that was June, you are so very, very wrong, it is safe to say you might just as well rid the world of your presence,” he spat.

          The Mage frowned, wary of any trick. “That wasn't June?”

          “That was a demon,” Adam quickly explained, then looked at Terrance. “At least, I think it was. Right?”

          “Don't act stupid, Adam—June isn't here now. You know that wasn't June. No need to look for confirmation.”

          The man changed instantly; his expression and posture too, took a more self-assured, almost smug demeanor. He chuckled and, when noticing the Mage's surprise, nodded. “Yeah, it was a demon. We've recently been warned her seal had broken. So now, apparently, it is on the loose.”