The Rainlands: Grand Delusion

Chapter 59: Save Me

He reined in his rampant emotions as Jasmine tugged on his sleeve, dragging him towards Portas. There were guards at the gates. Watching for them, he was sure of it. But they hadn't seen them yet. Jasmine and Levi didn't give them time to close the gates. It was a rush, plain and simple. They just ran in, the sleepy guards failing to see them until they had crossed half the no-mans land between the trees and the gates. The old hinges started to roll shut and a man shouted for them to stop.

"Halt!" He cried, but it was too late. They were already almost there. The guards leveled their spears, but hesitated, doubt staying their hands, the words of their superiors floating through their minds. Levi noticed. They're not supposed to kill us!

"Keep going! They can't kill us!" Levi yelled to Jasmine who sped up in response. They blew past the guards who pulled their spears away at the last second and sped into the city as the gates slammed shut behind them. Rainy streets, drops of water splashing, their feet on the slick tiles, the two of them raced away from the entrance. Night became their ally, the darkness shielding them as they tried to bury themselves in the city's depths. At first, Levi could hear the clamor of guardsmen, of the gate starting to reopen. They must be letting the other men in. But as they got deeper and deeper, things began to become quiet. Eventually, Levi realized the only sound in the night was their own footsteps ringing off the buildings. He slowed, trying to hear more than the splishes and splashes of each step.

Nothing.

Jasmine slowed as well. Levi sipped the air, his mouth wide as he panted, his ribs didn't want to expand, even though his lungs so desperately demanded it. They stopped next to an old decrepit warehouse, holes in the walls. He saw a window down the side, one of the planks boarding it up was broken. Abandoned. We could rest here, maybe.

He nodded to Jasmine. She took a look, and nodded back. They waited a minute in the shadows, catching their breath. Levi felt woozy, the heat of the air in Portas blew over his skin in a sickly warm manner. It did little to dry the sweat drenching his body. Putting a hand on the wall for balance, he bent the board back. Yanked it out to create a hole just big enough for a small person. Tossed the board inside. It clattered in the dark. Putting a foot through the hole, he tried to step through. His pants caught on the rough edges of the other boards, but he made it. He pulled his other leg through. Turned around and then helped Jasmine cross over. When she was inside, he took the half-broken board and tried to wedge it into the gap, but it wouldn't fit anymore. As he walked away, it slipped from the window and fell with a clatter on the stone-floor. Crap.

Taking Jasmine's hand, he led her through the first floor of the abandoned building. It was mostly empty. A few dusty wooden crates and barrels littered the ground but that was it. He saw a railing, stairs to a second level. Together, they ascended up, and found a dark corner by the window. So tired. Gotta rest...

Wordlessly, the two of them settled down, holding each other. Jasmine pulled something out of her pocket, a handkerchief. What's that for...ah. She stuffed it in her mouth and he understood. For the dreams. He wished she didn't have to do it, but here in this city where they were hunted, there was no choice. We can't afford any noise tonight.

"We should be safe here for a little while." He remarked, peeking out the window. Both the street level, and the suspended pathways between the buildings of the second level were clear. "We should take turns but I...can't stay awake..."

"Mmm..." Jasmine just murmured before rolling into his side. Exhausted, he collapsed, all form of tension leaving his aching body as he leaned back against the wall and went still. Goodnight. May the Raingods keep us from being found.

#

Hsssss

It shouldn't have been suspicious, just a little noise, a little hiss. Only the Raingods knew how it woke Levi up when he should have been in a dead sleep. But it did. He had to claw his way out of the darkness, but something told him that he needed to. When he opened his eyes, he wasn't sure if he had left the nightmare. What?

Jasmine was several feet away, her fingers scrabbling for him. A dark shadow atop her, like some predatory demon, held her down. A syringe was stuck in her arm, a hand over her mask, smothered her screams. The handkerchief in her mouth blocked out even her choking. Just the slight hissing as she tried to shriek a warning through her flared nostrils.

"JASMINE!" Levi roared, leaping to his feet. He accessed his options, considered blasting the assailant with a bolt of lightning. She's too close. I'll hit her too!

"Don't. Move." Peirce warned him, his face sliding out of the darkness. A vicious smile and the slightest flash of white teeth greeted Levi as he came into the light, his finger depressing the plunger of the syringe completely into Jasmine's arm. "I could have killed you in your sleep. But as a favor to your sister, you get to live. Don't throw your life away. You're not a hero, just some nobody, no need to play at something you're not." Levi longed to run to Jasmine, to save her. But as the liquid in the syringe entered her arm, she weakened. Peirce's hand came off her mouth and withdrew a knife which he pressed to her throat. "There...it's done. She's coming with me. Don't worry, I won't hurt her. She's used to this, she'll be fine. But as for you, you had best not interfere any more than you have. Walk away, little boy."

Levi growled, his hesitation not for any of Peirce's threats but because he wasn't sure how he could accomplish anything with Peirce's dagger at Jasmine's throat.

"If you won't hurt her...then that dagger is a bluff." Levi replied viciously, taking a step forward. Peirce sighed, moving the dagger closer to Jasmine's exposed neck. He shook his head.

"Oh, you'll see if it's a bluff or not if you decide to use that nifty little Reincarnation of yours. Not one more step, boy." The man began to drag Jasmine away, slowly, shaking his dagger threateningly over her throat all the while. Levi froze. "What do you even think would happen if you managed to stop me? Which you can't by the way. My employer will just send more men. You think your Reincarnation can kill them all? You'll be drowned. An army of Reincarnations will swallow you whole. I'm just the tip of the iceberg, down below, the sharks are swimming, and you...don't...want...to...slide...under." His grin stretched wider, confidence oozing from him as Levi didn't follow him. "That's right. Stay still little boy. Maybe when you realize what's important in life, you'll come work for me."

Levi was shaking. Rage filled his system, he felt weak, completely helpless as Peirce took Jasmine away from him right in front of his eyes. But he didn't dare move.

Not yet.

Not yet!

NOT YET!

He held it in, no matter how hard it was. But somewhere inside, his blood was boiling. He was on fire, just waiting for a chance to ignite. He remembered wondering if he should have regretted killing the man who got too close outside the city gates. Peirce...I'm going to kill you. I don't care who you are, I don't care if you're the lapdog of a Prince or an Emperor. Just you wait!

After an eternity, Peirce reached the door on the second floor, and pulled it open with one hand, yanking Jasmine outside onto the tiered pathways of Portas's rooftops. From the moment the door shut behind them, Levi moved. He dashed forwards, rushing to the door. Peirce had done something to it. Wedged something into the lock, it wouldn't budge. Levi peered through the little crack running between the edge of the door and the outside. Saw Jasmine's eyes half-lidded, staring right back at him, as Peirce dragged her limply onto the sky paths. She mouthed something, maybe it was a fever dream, she certainly couldn't make any noise through the handkerchief in her mouth. Does she see me? What's she saying?
It looked like...

Save me.

That was all it took. The trigger. Levi exploded, all the pent-up rage and frustration channeling through his body like an electric surge. His hair stood on end as he leveled his arm at the door and drew his sword. Then he blew the door.