Chapter 5

  Sir Reginald closed the door to the room and stood in front of it, hands on his sword. According to rumour, Thanatos was always protected by someone. However, as the emperor of one of the biggest empires in the world, Akira was surprised to find that Thanatos worked in such a small office. Akira turned from the soldier and sat on a soft white chair set in the middle of the floor. He crossed one leg over the other and faced the emperor, on a similar chair across the room, behind a large wooden desk that dominated the room. It rested on the only carpet in the room, leaving Akira sitting on cold hard stone, near the door. If there was any trouble, Sir Reginald would immediately cut off Akira’s head before the hero could cross the space and there would be no trouble cleaning up the blood.

  “I see,” Akira said.

  “What do you see?” Thanatos asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Why this room is so small.” Akira didn’t elaborate, just stared at the emperor, watching the older man’s smile grow bigger. “Why am I here? Tell me the truth. And it’s not because of Relancia’s connection to the other world.”

  “Very astute, young hero.” The emperor stood up and came around to the front of the desk. He sat on the edge of the carved wood and leaned forward. Akira heard Sir Reginald shift. This wasn’t part of their plan. The emperor must be improvising.

  “I can deal with Eon. His son is much more pliable and already sympathetic to our overtures. However, I need your help to take care of the Relancia soldiers. While your name has lost some of its muster, you are still an important person there. With you by my side, I can easily make my way to the capital. You can connect both countries.”

  Akira put his hand under his chin. “You don’t need Relancia,” he said, looking up directly at the emperor. “Eon is a fool and has squandered the steel armour, but he’s going to eat himself to death before he can cause much more trouble, and then you can swoop in and take the secret from him. One last time, what do you want?”

  Thanatos frowned and moved back behind his desk. He pulled out a long, thin message. “My spy in Relancia sent me word that a man from that other world has arrived. He described the man as tall, handsome, older, and completely controlling Eon.I don’t know what he wants here, but I’ve seen what he can bring that fat bastard. I want it and I want him,” he said as he handed the paper to Akira.

  From the description and Eon’s response, Akira knew it was probably the Backer, Robert. He remembered how Eon acted around him. Akira looked up. “You want the technology he’s offering, don’t you? The steel?”

  Thanatos nodded and pointed to Sir Reginald’s armour. “And more. We have some of the best blacksmiths on the continent, but Relancia constantly outperforms us. Recently, they have received a miracle crop, as they call it.” The emperor pulled open a bag, reached inside and set a round thing on his desk. It was brown and had roots growing from it. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t gather many of them. It’s called a potato. I need to know how it’s grown and prepared. We have some ideas, but not enough to begin planting before he can harvest more than a test field and flood the market. We are facing a famine here in Kolori, and this crop may help stave off a revolution.”

  “What do you mean?” Akira asked.

  Thanatos leaned back in his chair. “The people love Zial, but they blame the nobility when they don’t have enough food to fill their bellies. We have been facing unrest recently and need to work on giving the people what they need.”

  That explained some of the extreme measures those people took when the cart turned over. Poking at the root, a clump of dirt dislodged itself and fell onto the desk. Standing, Akira started to pace the small room. “If I do this, what’s in it for me?”

  “We have received a second message from our spy that the woman, Sam, is also back in Relancia,” Thanatos said. “She arrived a few weeks ago. Eon sent a team against her, but they were defeated. She’s on the run. We will help you find her.”

  That woman again. Akira probed his missing teeth and grunted. Coming to the capital, Saku mentioned that there were surgeons here who could provide him with replacement teeth, fakes to fill the holes left by that woman. When he arrived in the city, he had been expecting a welcoming celebration as he stepped through the gates. The near riot was exciting enough and told him everything he needed to know. His feelings about Sam were still there, but not as strong.

  He could start with this man.

  “No. I have spent too much of my time obsessing about her,” he dismissed Thanatos’s promise with a wave of his hand. He didn’t need to be indebted to the emperor for something so small. “I don’t care what she does now and refuse to hunt her down. I will kill her if I see her, but that is the extent of my desire at the moment.” He stood up and went to the door. Sir Reginald stood aside and opened it for Akira. “I will think about what you said after talking it over with my companions.”

  “That’s all I ask,” Thanatos said.

  ********************

  Mel paced back and forth in her room. The door was closed, but she could feel the men standing outside, guarding the entrance. Supposedly to protect her from zealots who hated magic. She knew the minute she tried to do any spell; they’d take her head. The followers of Zial armed themselves with crystals, sensitive to magic power. She hated those things, and in the temples, they were everywhere. The soldiers who’d rescued them from the Demon lands only had a few of them. The magic there set them off permanently, usually destroying them. Here, everyone with a lick of money had one. There was no way she could burn off any stress.

  The room was big enough to run across, with beautiful furniture and a soft bed. Light streamed in through the bay windows. Where they had gotten the glass for them was a mystery. Mel hated it. A prison, even a beautiful one, was still a prison.

  “Where is that fool?” she kicked a large brown pillow. They had taken her shoes and given her a pair of simple slippers. They made kicking anything heavy, difficult. She’d placed several cushions and pillows on the floor after drawing faces on them with the ashes from the firepit. Stalking up to the one she’d named Akira, Mel paused.

  “I wish I could have helped you more.” She bent and hugged the cushion. Since leaving the demon lands, Akira had talked to her less and less. “You seem to have calmed down some, though.” She smoothed the pretend hair on the cushion, blackening her hand. “I had hoped we could regain what we once had.”

  Standing, she kicked it again and let it sail across the room, knocking over a vase. The crash echoed, followed by the door bursting open and soldiers rushing in.

  “What was that? Are you safe?” The soldiers had their swords drawn and were facing her.

  Mel scoffed. “Trying to protect me from a pillow, are you?” She pointed to the broken vase. “Send a girl to clean it up.”

  This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

  The soldiers scowled at her and left the room. She heard the door click, locking her in again.

  Sighing, Mel flopped down in the chair. “I need to get out of here.”

  The door clicked again and opened. Akira stepped in. He’d washed and fixed his mop of hair. Mel loved touching him and wanted to run her fingers across his chin again. First, he had to seduce that cow, Sam. They could still meet each other. That had been fun for a while. After finding out about her mind-control spell, he’d refused to let her touch him. Damn, Tysone. Her old master always destroyed everything he touched.

  “Next time knock. I could be in the middle of a delicate situation,” she said. Sitting up in the chair, she put her hands in her lap. “What do you want, Akira?”

  He sat down across from her and touched her knee. His smile was soft and comforting. Mel raised her eyebrow. The last time he touched her like this was before the campaign at that village where everything had gone to hell.

  “What do you want?” She made no move and forced her face to remain expressionless. She felt her heart racing at his touch. Had he forgiven her? She wished it was so, but wasn’t going to give him any more ammunition to use against her.

  “Emperor Thanatos has asked me to lead an army against Relancia and Eon. He wants me to use my name to convince the soldiers there to follow him.” He removed his hand and sat back. “I told him I had to think about it and talk with my companions first.”

  Mel sat back and stared at his face. It had changed. She knew he was still in pain from that poison, but he wasn’t showing it. “You're different. I thought you wanted to hunt down Sam and Ayasse for what they did.”

  He scowled at the names, but other than a slightly raised lip, brushed her off. “Before, yes. I was obsessed with their death. That hasn’t changed. If I see them, they will die, no more quarter. Now, though, with some distance from them, I can see a better path.” He stood up and went behind her. Grabbing her shoulders, he started giving her a massage. She missed this and closed her eyes. “I’m supposed to be a hero, but I haven’t been acting like one. That needs to change. I want you with me when we do this. You deserve to be there. Without you, I would’ve died.”

  She leaned back into his fingers and closed her eyes. This was just like before. He needed to keep up appearances when they travelled as the Hero’s Party. That meant pretending to be interested in that barbarian. Mel hated that woman and didn’t even want to think of her name. When that blond bitch finally showed her true colours in the battle with the Demon King, Mel was ecstatic. Akira had tried to get her to cast the memory spell again, but her mana had been depleted. Even if it hadn’t, Mel didn’t want to have to touch that slut again. That started this whole chain of events.

  If she could go back to how it was before… “No!” Mel jerked forward and jumped out of the chair. She spun to Akira and pointed a finger at him. “You wanted to kill me after the battle with Sam. I saw it in your eyes. Now you want me to blindly follow you? How can I believe anything you say?”

  Akira lowered his hands. Mel could see the fire in his eyes, but the anger was gone, replaced by something else.

  “It’s true. I hurt you and I’m sorry about that. After my sword was destroyed, I took my pain out on everybody around me.” He stared into her eyes, “You most of all.” Akira started pacing. “I wanted to blame you for what happened. It was your memory spell that failed, but I knew I had to acknowledge my part in that bitches’ actions.”

  Mel could hear Akira’s teeth grinding. Ever since Sam knocked half of them out, he wouldn’t stop doing that. It at least made him honest. “What will I have to do if I join you?”

  “Nothing you haven’t already done. Provide support for me as I attack the front lines,” Akira said, spinning to a stop. “I will have to prove myself to the army first, so we will be attacking some of their advanced units. The Kolori empire’s magic slaves are powerful enough to surpass any magic, but some will slip through. I don’t trust them as well. They are controlled by the empire and would betray me at a moment’s notice. With you by my side, we could protect each other. It would have to be as a last resort though. The soldiers would probably kill you if you used magic near them.”

  “Then what’s the point in asking me? You’re just putting me into another box. You’ve already made up your mind.” Mel could feel Akira slipping further away. He didn’t need her anymore. She turned around and faced the window. Hugging herself, she didn’t want him to see her crying.

  He placed his hand on her shoulder. “I still value your opinion. Without you and Rock, I’d be lost in the forest, drowning in blood and vengeance. You pulled me from the edge of the abyss and I never properly thanked you. If I was lucky, the Demon King would have killed me before the poison did.”

  Mel placed her hand over his and turned around. She stared up into his eyes and tilted her head. He wasn’t pushing her away. Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and waited for him to grab her in closer and kiss her like he used to.

  “What are you doing, Mel?” Akira said, pushing her away. “I told you this part of our relationship was over.”

  Mel smiled and nodded. “I just wanted to see how much you had changed.” She turned away from Akira and closed her eyes.

  “Give me some time to consider your proposal. I will think about what you said and tell you tomorrow.”

  “That’s perfect.” Akira bowed to Mel and smiled. She saw his gapped teeth, but he didn’t care about that at the moment. He was always hiding that now.

  “At least remove the guards from my door,” Mel asked as he turned to the exit. “I always hated feeling like I was living in a prison. I had enough of that with my old master. For some reason, I can smell the scent of his madness here.”

  Akira nodded and left the room. Mel could hear him speaking to the guards, even if the words were vague and unclear. A few moments later, the door to her room was no longer protected. Using her mana, Mel could feel the guards moving away.

  She turned to the window and looked at the setting sun. It was bathing the buildings in a radiant fire, seeming to destroy everything. The same light hit her face, but couldn’t penetrate the depths of her grief. If Akira had returned then, she would have blasted him to ash.

  *****************

  “What do you want, Mel?” Rock asked. “Can’t you see I’m busy here?” Rock hoisted another tankard of ale. When she found him, he was already drunk, but she needed him to get her out of the city.

  She scoffed and placed a gold coin down on the table in front of him. He raised an eyebrow and took another swing of the ale. She sighed and set two more coins down beside it.

  “You have my attention. Please continue,” he said, gathering the money and placing it in his soiled green tunic.

  “I need to get out of this city,” Mel said, keeping her voice low. “They don’t like me here. It feels like I’m in a cage. I’ve always hated that feeling. Besides, I can’t stand the way Akira has changed.”

  “You mean, become more like how he used to be, before vengeance took hold of him?” Rock said. He pulled out a sick and started carving it. “I like the new Akira. He reminds me of the man I used to follow.”

  “Yes, but he is different now. More…, how can I explain it?” Mel was lost for words. She knew he was different, better, but at the same time, no longer the man she cared for.

  “Maybe you just don’t like the fact that he no longer needs your care and attention. He’s moved on from you.” Rock smiled.

  Mel scowled at the man. She curled her fingers to release a fireball at him and noticed a few of the mana detection crystals start to shine. It was a small pinprick and easy to miss, but if she continued, she’d give away her position.

  “Yes, that’s it. You got it, you big powerful man, you.” Mel took a deep breath and let out her anger. “Can you get me out of the city before I kill the new Akira and they kill me for using magic?”

  Rock was silent. He took another swig of his ale, polishing off the glass. Letting out a loud belch, he stood up. “When do you want to go?”

  “Tonight, if possible. I don’t have anything to take with me.”

  “It’ll mean sleeping in the forest again. Is that okay?” Rock smirked at her. Everyone knew how much she hated the forests.

  “I’ll survive.” Mel stood up and followed Rock out the door. Finally, she was going to be free of this place. “I should never have come here.”

  “No. You really shouldn’t have,” Rock said, stepping outside and moving to the right.

  Akira stood under the street lamp. Behind him were a dozen soldiers with the anti-magic handcuffs Kolori scientists had developed to deal with mages.

  “I wish you’d taken me up on my offer, Mel,” he said, shaking his head. “I had to make Saku give me his word he wouldn’t kill you if you come quietly.”

  Mel stared at Akira and turned her head to Rock. “You betrayed me. You bastard,” she spat at him, “Why?”

  Rock shrugged. “I never betrayed you. I never promised to help you in the first place. I just took your money. Besides,” he pointed to Akira, “as I said. I like the new Akira.”

  He stepped away as soldiers surrounded Mel and slapped the magic-dampening cuffs on her.

  “I hate you, Akira.” Mel glared at him. Tears streamed down her face.

  “I don’t hate you anymore, Mel.” He turned to the soldiers. “Please take her back to her room. She is confined there.”

  The soldiers nodded and shoved Mel forward. She stumbled but caught herself before she fell. There was no way she would give him the satisfaction of seeing her fall here.