“Lex. Eliminate the Vessel. Cal and Jax, shoot the Mages.”
Lex grabbed Sasori’s hand, calling forth his Pain Magic with relative ease. I could see it hovering at the edges of his hands, the magic lookedalmost gelatinous, such a deep purple that it looked black in the dark. My own power jumped within my crystals, hungry to be let out and used. I tore my gaze away from Lex’s waiting magic to focus on the three rebels at the edges of the gate.
Soon.I said to my power.
“On my count. Three . . . two . . . now,” I hissed the last word. As one, Cal and Jax loosed arrows that pierced the night, landing true. One Mage went down with an arrow in his eye that protruded through the back of his skull. The other collapsed, gurgling in a pool of blood with Jax’s arrow sprouting from his throat. At the same time, Lex sent his power trailing through the night air to wrap around the head of the Vessel. As the two Mages collapsed, Lex’s power dissipated, revealing the Vessel’s face. Lex’s magic caused the Vessel to scratch at their own eyes and pull out their own tongue. They fell to the ground and convulsed for a moment before going still.
I heard Cal and Jax hang their bows on their backs, and I quickly glanced at Lex.
He hated using his Pain Magic—it didn’t come as easy or natural to him as Pleasure, but it was more conducive to an attack. Pleasure was great to momentarily incapacitate an enemy, but only a large, highly concentrated amount could actually kill. Pain, however, could be directed and manipulated to the point that a person could feel like the pain wasinsidetheir head and that burrowing within their own skull would alleviate it. It could convince a victim that their bones were broken, and they would lie incapacitated until Ilyas or Sasori could finish them with a well-placed arrow or knife.
It was brutal and messy.
He gave me a curt nod at my look and released Sasori’s hand. Sasori shook herself slightly, the effects of Lex pulling the Pain Magic from her evident.
I’ll have to check on both of them later.
I refocused and motioned for the group to follow me to the gate. We bypassed the bodies, pressing our own flush with the wide gate. I peered through the gap in the doors down the paved main street of the village.
Strangely, there were no Mages or Vessels in direct line of sight.
Something feels off. Did they know we were coming?I quickly dismissed the thought. There was no way they could predict our arrival.
I pushed lightly against the gate, surprised to see that it swung open with ease, though with a creak that loudly echoed against the quiet night.
Shit.Elementary mistake.
We sucked in a collective breath, a few of the Mages grabbing their Vessels and readying their magic, just in case. When no one appeared, we relaxed, but barely.
“Something doesn’t feel right,” Lex whispered from beside me.
Sol grunted, and a few other murmurs of agreement echoed through the line of Mages.
“Stick to the plan. Separate into your groups. Lex, Sol, and I will take the main road. Cal, take your group to the left side of the street, Jax, to the right. We’ll convene together at the inn, which is the last building on the right nearest the mayor’s house.”
The village was so small that we could see the mayor’s house from here.
We quickly snuck through the opening I created in the gates, the only sounds the padding of our boots as we jogged down the stone-paved streets and the occasional creak of leather from our armor and tunics. Cal and Jax quickly split off with their groups of Mages while Lex, Sol, and I created a slight v-formation as we cautiously made our way down the center of the street.
Sasori and Ilyas both touched Lex’s back, a sword in Ilyas’ free hand, a dagger in Sasori’s. Both Sol and her Vessel welded weapons in their free hands. Feeling naked, I grabbed one of my throwing daggers as well.
We encountered no resistance as we made our way down the burned-out road of buildings. Nothing was left untouched. Bodies in various states of decay still littered the ground, and I couldn’t tell in the dark if they were our envoy from earlier in the month, villagers, or rebels, and we didn’t have time to stop and look.
There will be time later.
“Where are they?” Lex muttered, Pain Magic coalesced in one hand and the dripping honey of Pleasure in the other.
Sol had a small wind ball conjured in her left hand, which she nervously opened and closed as her eyes darted to the remains of the burned buildings.
“Something is not right, General,” she stated.
I grunted in acknowledgment. “Stick to the plan. They’re most likely going to ambush us at some point. Stay alert.”
We continued our approach down the street, not slowing until we reached the halfway point. Lex and Sol were growing increasingly anxious on either side of me, and even I was starting to question my plan.
Did they leave?No, that wouldn’t make sense. If they did, why are there still guards at the gate?
None of it made sense. Until we heard the telltale sounds of battle and magic on either side of us. It was like a switch flipping and the silence of the night was instantly replaced by shouts and blasts of various Elemental Magic.
